Why is a Salesman Like a Sportsman?

Continuing with a previous thread of the similarities and differences between Sport and Sales, there are several obvious common themes.

• About competition and 'performance'
• Results oriented
• Have to get it 'right on the night'
• Underperformance is highly visible
• Operating under pressure
• Past and potential performance are merely indicators
• Preparation is vital
• Preparation is no guarantee of a good performance
• Complacency is a killer, e.g.
  • Underestimating the competition
  • Overestimating the competition!
  • Skimping on preparation
  • Ignoring the need to monitor and assess developments in your field

However, the approaches to training seem vastly different.
Excuse the gap.  Blogspot doesn't seem to handle tables perfectly!

Sports Professionals	Sales Professionals
Train constantly	Train occasionally, if at all - Maybe one or two days per year
Work on all different aspects of their game	Rarely address more than one or two aspects
Some training is under guidance, some is on their own	What training there is will often be self-motivated and individually organised
The Coach continually monitors performance and operates a 'continuous improvement' regime	Managers monitor performance less often, and frequently wait for a crisis before offering assistance
Coaches also develop individual training programmes for each competitor in their charge	Whole team only ever goes on the same 'one size fits all' course
Huge use of role-play in practising for their event	Apart from any that is part of a training course, there is a notable lack of role-play - You're in at the deep end, doing it for real!

Can you imagine this Sales scenario operating in professional competitive sport?  Yet we have to assume that salespeople also want to perform to their best, and that their best is at a high level - otherwise why haven't they changed to a different career?

The Sales Manager and Sales Director have to view their roles as 'Coaches'.  In professional football, for example, if the team is consistently performing badly, it is recognised that the results are the ultimate responsibility of the Manager.  If the results don't come, it will be the Manager who loses his job before too many of the players lose theirs!

If the salespeople model themselves on any particular sport, they need to be aware of the circumstances that prevail in that sport.  For example, in Formula 1 mid-season testing has been banned since 2009, but not because it delivers no benefit.  Far from it!  It has been banned purely in order to level the playing field for the less affluent teams.

In both scenarios, the team have to be trained and they have to have the opportunity in a 'safe environment' to try putting into practice what they have learned.  Further observation and suggestions for improvement must be effectively continuous.  A sports Coach will monitor their protégés in action, in competition as well as in training, because performance under pressure has to be analysed and shortcomings acted upon.  Sales needs to be similar.  In both spheres there has to be room for new ideas, new techniques, new training regimes and new approaches.

Those responsible for sales team training should ask themselves, "Could the team apply all they've been taught anyway?"  In a sporting context you'd be hard pressed to answer anything except 'of course'.  But has the sales trainer taken the time to understand the company's customers and markets?  Their problems and circumstances?  Have they observed the sales team in action, under pressure?  This type of trainer would not be cheap, and it would mean investing a large amount in your sales team.  But aren't you expecting them to be as professional at their jobs as any top professional sports star is at theirs?

Apparently, around a third of sales people change jobs each year, so does this tempt 'management' not to invest in their development?  I doubt the figure is as high in professional football, despite the lively transfer market.
Do football club Managers feel it's not worth developing their players because they'll all have moved on in a few years?  By not investing in those staff who do leave, you'll be failing to invest in those who'd like to stay, and they'll up and leave too because they want to be developed!

Many sports which operate in a 'club' environment make use of senior players to help with the development of juniors, and sales teams need to do the same.  Neglecting the accumulated in-house wisdom would be a grave error, so analyse why your top performers are at the top.  Help them to do so if they can't put it into words themselves.  Get them involved in the training and coaching of the whole team.

If you have any responsibility for the results of a team - even a team of one - don't just tick the box which says 'we've done training'!  Take a leaf out of the sports Coaches' book.  Olympic medals aren't available for selling, but if they were, wouldn't it be nice to think that your team would be among the medallists?

Calling all UK-based businesses.  Discover how to get your FREE Sales and Marketing coaching taster call.