We’re just days away sports fans – the 2014 World Cup is in its final rounds! While the entire world waited for four excruciatingly long years, no one was more excited (and anxious) than the teams themselves. The World Cup is the biggest sporting event on Earth. The players feel it. The coaches feel it. 32 teams qualified – that may seem like a lot, but qualifying started over 3 years ago with over 200 teams fighting to represent their nations in Brazil. This part of the journey is arguably more difficult than the Cup itself.
Once your team has made it to Brazil, much of the hard work is done- now it’s show time and you’re either ready or not. But in the weeks, months, and years before that, you must hone your skills, train, and prepare yourself for whatever your opponent might bring to the pitch. The same could be said when preparing for any big event, important task, or even a sales call.
When you’re trying to enable your sales team, it’s critical to have a winning strategy in place long before a single call is made. In short, if you’re to play like Germany in Tuesday’s cringe-worthy match, you’ll need to prep (and prep hard) World Cup-style:
Coach like a pro
Think of all of the training, preparing, and conditioning the soccer (or is it football?) teams went through prior to the World Cup – all orchestrated by the coach, the maestro of this athletic symphony. Whether your coaching style is drill sergeant like, or more subtle and persuasive, your sales team is looking to you to coerce them in the right direction. Make sure your sales team is fully trained and properly equipped with the necessary tools they need to succeed is your job – don’t let them down.
Let no hour go to waste: Practice
Practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. How you train for the big event makes all the difference. Messi’s play would simply be…messy, if it weren’t for the years, days and hours spent on perfecting his craft. And he didn’t just run laps to condition – he trained his skills to the pinnacle. Sales teams need to do the same. It’s not good enough to sit in sales training once a year. You can’t prepare for a call while you’re on the phone and it’s critical to have your resources ready to go before you even pick up the phone. Each task needs to be considered practice for the next for continuous improvement.
T for Teamwork
No one wins the World Cup alone. Of course, there are those who bend it like Beckham, but without a goalie, your team wouldn’t stand a chance.
If only Tim Howard was in #gameofthrones pic.twitter.com/ziitUXIwy3
— ClotureClub.com (@ClotureClub) July 2, 2014
Each position has their responsibility and are expected to do their part in the choreography for the win. Good sales teams know this. Leverage your support structures to maximize selling time and efficiency. With a cohesive team, effective communication and streamlined execution, your sales team is in position to reach that…GOAAAAL!
Leveraging these strategies in coordination and planning ahead for the win is a tried and tested way to keep your prospects satisfied and competitors on their toes.
