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Becoming a Sales Champion: Lessons from USC Football
September 12, 2007
By Steve W. Martin
If you're looking to score some winning sales, maybe you should have your reps start watching football on Monday nights—that's if they aren't already. This strategic game of offense and defense involves much more than two opposing teams duking it out for a chance at the Super Bowl: Each time they step out onto the field, they are trying to beat their No. 1 opposition—themselves.
Although I am not a sports fanatic, I have always followed one team since I was a boy. I've always had a special affinity for the USC Trojans football team. Therefore, it's no surprise that one of my favorite football coaches of all time is John McKay. McKay reached the highest heights winning five national championships at USC. And USC has yet another great coach today—Pete Carroll. Carroll has accomplished a stunning turnaround of the program. He won back-to-back national championships in 2004 and 2005, and his team is picked to win the national championship again this year.
Surprisingly, sports and sales share a lot of the same characteristics. Each requires hard work, perseverance, sacrifice, and personal discipline. More importantly, each are based upon preparing one's self—physically, mentally, and strategically—for the long run—whether it's an entire season or a fiscal year.
When you analyze why USC is winning, it comes down to three main reasons.
1. They are having fun. Having fun begets winning and winning begets having fun. One player commented, "Coach Carroll makes it intense and fun. I don’t think enough coaches realize how bad it looks to the players when they stand on the sideline like somebody just died. Coach Carroll gives us enthusiasm that we can feed off." Unfortunately, too many sales environments are based only on intensity with little or no fun.
2. Pete Carroll has minimized the factors out of his control and maximized what was in his control. Recruiting new players is completely under his control. Therefore, recruiting became his number one focus. He hires the best assistant coaches and recruits the most talented players. No program can retain success without continually upgrading their talent. Since they'll play the most talented players, including true freshman, the survival-of-the-fittest environment keeps all the players on their toes.
3. The coach and players have an insatiable appetite for winning. They aren't resting on their laurels. In the words of Pete Carrol, "There is no end. There is no eureka. You just keep going."
Pete Carroll's story has another lesson for salespeople. Before he took over the USC program, Carroll was a head coach in the NFL. His record leading the New York Jets for a season was 6-10, and the two seasons he spent with the England Patriots he was 27-21. The same man who was regarded as a mediocre coach is now one of the most admired in the nation. Now, this provides a very important point. Yours—and your reps—sales success is dependent upon your individual ability to find an environment where you can thrive, one that fits your personal strengths and your own particular style.
Steve W. Martin is the author of Heavy Hitter Sales Wisdom: Proven Sales Warfare Strategies, Secrets of Persuasion, and Common-Sense Tips for Success. He can be contaced at www.heavyhitterwisdom.com.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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