With today’s labor market and buyers being as sophisticated as they’ve ever been, sales has become the easy part — if you’re selling to gain an order. We’ve all been there: hire a new sales rep, send them to be trained, give them the toolbox, and send them on their way. Put them in the right market — which is almost any market in today’s conditions — and you can even find a purple squirrel or two. If it’s orders you’re after, this will work, but how about building long-term, sustaining partnerships? To accomplish this, both sales professionals and sales leaders must offer more coaching, guidance and understanding regarding what is being sold (the problems you’re solving for your customers) and how it affects those business partners you’re selling to.
Larry Bird once said, “You play the way you practice.” I find in sales there is way too much “game time” and the practice is overlooked. Neither Larry Bird nor Michael Jordan — nor any other sports great, for that matter — simply showed up on game day to ink themselves into the all-time greats list. Why would sales be any different? Why would you expect your sales staff to pick up the playbook and win all the games? It takes more than just one great game to become a legend! You must assemble the right team, train them, provide the playbook, practice the plays, and then have frequent post-game analysis.
Right Pick
There is some credence to drafting a proven “superstar” with industry experience and documented success. Sometimes their previous success will translate to success within your organization. However, sometimes the “superstars” you seek are right under your nose, sitting on the bench waiting for their chance to join in the starting lineup. Some of the most successful sales representatives I’ve ever seen have come from the recruiter desk. When you’re able to draw from the bench, the rep is already aligned with your culture, which is an added bonus.
Good sales coaches also spend time on training, both on and off the field. They review the playbooks, teach the process, and provide the ammunition needed for the new sales representative to be successful. But apart from spending a day in the field with the new sales reps once or twice a quarter, there is no real practice before game time. Athletes need sprints to build endurance, the free-throw shooting to win the game, the play drills over and over again to execute with precision during the game. Sales representatives require regular practice as well. As sales leaders, we should expect to invest our time with our reps to ensure they get that practice on a daily or weekly basis.
Prep & Analysis
The most common sales challenge is getting that first face-to-face meeting. A successful rep must have the endurance to be told “no” and the determination to earn that “yes.” Why would we want the only practice opportunity to come at game time instead of spending 30 minutes weekly to practice this through role playing and bolstering confidence to overcome even the most challenging objection? We must spend time not only preparing for these meetings, but asking the thought-provoking questions that will help us understand more about the prospect’s challenges and goals. Then, just as sports teams debrief after games, we should have a five- to 10-minute session after every meeting, every proposal, every presentation to discuss what went well, what didn’t, and what we learned.
If sales representatives and sales leaders can make it a priority to devote one to two hours for practice, imagine the difference in results and the financial impact when more reps meet and beat quota. If we practice getting the right habits instilled, it will generate the results we need to win the game. To quote a great mentor, “Practice doesn’t make perfect … practice makes permanent.” You play the way you practice, so practice the way you want to play.
