Although my personal enjoyment of professional sports has waned in recent years, I still find great peace in them—not necessarily in the play of the game when I do watch, but in the rhythm during and between the action.
There is something comforting in watching the basketball players touch hands with the free throw shooter, whether she hits or misses; the ball being tossed around the horn after a strikeout; hockey players congratulating the opposing team at the conclusion of a playoff; or football players of opposing teams coming together in prayer after a game.
High-level achievers have invested years, often starting in early adolescence, to become proficient at their skills. They make it so easy that fans often feel entitled to boo premier athletes for the occasional flub, forgetting that they themselves couldn’t do on their best day that which the professional athlete does with regularity every day.
Success is a routine. The two biggest differences between the high-level sports performer and the sales performer are that the latter a) usually doesn’t begin the process of learning the career until later in life and b) as a result, never finds the rhythm of high-caliber performers. In fact, I am wont to assert that salespeople should invest the time thinking and talking about their craft as much as the professional athlete.
I have been privileged to travel with hundreds of salespeople in my long career and pay close attention to the dialogue that occurs between sales calls. I consider that football players huddle up on the sidelines and talk about ways to win the game; baseball players discuss baseball; golfers analyze shots; and so forth. The things I notice salespeople talking about between sales calls? Football, baseball and golf, when they should be talking about sales!
Sales success has a rhythm. Top performers engage consistently in similar habits to create consistent success. Here are a few tips I think can help you establish a winning rhythm.
- Analyze your sales calls. I find that the best performers are their own worst critics. Instead of self-congratulations, they analyze performance by answering two questions: What did I do right? What can I do better? It’s not about the outcome; the analysis is about the performance. They have faith that the right performance will create desired results.
- They lead teams in a cadence. The morning visit to the branch should include smiles and greetings with teammates, a fist bump and a quick dialogue to ensure everyone is on the same page. It’s a good time to quickly discuss areas of communication lapses that can be corrected.
- The cadence of a sales call should flow with a comfortable introduction, a meaningful interaction that benefits the buyer, and a swift conclusion that leads to the next meeting. If done well, the buyer feels a sense of progress and confidence that solidifies connection in the relationship.
- Top performers have an organizational cadence, too. Organizational details aren’t procrastinated; they’re done on the spot with a consistency of process that builds security.
I am reticent as a sales leader to prescribe specific actions a salesperson should take when reporting to me. I always prefer they report first to themselves. For example, one salesperson might track leads with a piece of paper lodged in the visor of their vehicle, while another might use a detailed spreadsheet. I don’t really care, so long as the practices are consistent and honest.
There are rules I believe must be applied to sales success. Just as blocking and tackling are the rules of sport, so too, for the sales profession, are appointments (as shared in my August article), a prospecting process, tracking of prospects, a clean and organized vehicle and so forth. For the many salespeople who say they have their own selling style, I’m all in so long as they recognize the “style” is the rhythm they bring to the process of selling.
Master the basics, and then find your rhythm and the rituals that will make you successful. It’s part of the mindset of successful business warriors.
