What the Red Sox and a Great Sales Team Have in Common

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You must have watched some of the World Series. You must have seen the Red Sox dominate the Rockies.  You must have thought they were superior in every way.  You must have thought they could beat anyone at any time.

Truth is, the Rockies are probably every bit as talented as the Red Sox.  They have some great stars to go along with some great supporting players.  They have some great pitching to go along with a great bullpen.

But the Red Sox came through in nearly every possible scenario and the Rockies didn't.  Why?

The Red Sox were more prepared.  They didn't get rattled.  They didn't feel the pressure.  They did what they have practiced, did it consistently and did it well.  Before every game, each player has balls hit to him at his position, makes practice throws and takes batting practice.  Isn't he already one of the best 700 players in the world?  Why is he practicing?  To be prepared for whatever might take place in the game. 

In his column in the Boston Globe, Dan Shaugnessey wrote, "When you see the Yankees 18 or 19 times per season, you become accustomed to playoff atmosphere. The Sox are battle tested..."

Based on what I've seen from evaluating 8000 sales organizations and 300,000 salespeople, your salespeople are probably no better or worse than those at the 8000 other companies.  However, what would happen if they were more prepared?  What would happen if they prepared for every possible scenario?  What would happen if they practiced every day, like the Red Sox?

This can happen through group role plays, pre-call strategizing and post-call debriefing.  How do you suppose their performance would improve if this took place each day?

Preparation.  It's the great differentiator between teams that show up and teams that win consistently.

© Copyright 2007 Objective Management Group, Inc.

Posted by Dave Kurlan on Mon, Oct 29, 2007 @ 09:35 PM