BEING A SUCCESSFUL SALES PRO IS A LOT LIKE BEING A TOP ATHLETE
When’s the last time you plowed through sales calls and worked really hard, like 80-90% of maximum, for a whole day? I bet never. It’s virtually impossible. We need rest time between the bursts of intense activity, just like athletes. Even the guys in the Tour de France coast downhill sometimes.
Even if you’ve never competed in a sport in your life, and you don’t ever want to, you can think like one, and perform like one. Here’s how:
When I was a competitive swimmer, we didn’t dive in the pool and swim nonstop for four miles (I bow down to Diane Nyad for swimming from Cuba to Florida). That’s overwhelming and daunting. We broke down the workout into drills, and each drill into sets, and each set had a number of repetitions, “reps”, with a timeline (goal) attached to it. So by the time we swam all of the drills, it amazingly added up to four miles.
The same thing applies to the sales day. It’s daunting to say to yourself, “I’m going to cold call all day Thursday.” But if you said to yourself, “I’m going to cold call for 45 minutes, then take a 15 minute break, then call for 45 minutes, and break again, then the chances of you doing it are much better.
TOP ATHLETES DO 2 THINGS THAT WE CAN ADOPT AS SALES PROS:
#1 – Design your sales workout BEFORE you start.
Write out your drills, sets, reps, and goals (paper or digital). THIS IS CRUCIAL. How are you going to achieve a goal if it’s not clear to you what that goal is? Are you going to work on your backstroke today or practice your flip turns?
Your goal can be based on time or production or skills; figure out what you need to achieve. For example, do you have a monthly quota? From there, break it down to how many work days you have that month, then within each day, what you must accomplish. Isn’t that easier?
#2- Find a “sales buddy” or “work coach”
Top athletes always have a coach to keep them motivated and accountable. If a coach (manager, mentor, etc.) is not available, you can accomplish the same thing with a sales buddy, just like people do with a workout buddy. It keeps you going on the good days and on the bad days. If you don’t have a sales buddy, tape your sales workout on your fridge or post it online.
Make yourself accountable to YOURSELF and to your numbers.
Like an athlete, it’s you and your performance – no one else’s – that get you to the finish line.
Photo courtesy of “Black Enterprise”
Contact Nikki, or book her to speak at nikki@goal-tender.com