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Don Hahn - Hahn Sales Training Golf and the Principles of Sales Success
Hole #1: Sound Fundamentals

by Donald Hahn, Hahn Sales Training

August 2006

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More Articles by Donald Hahn

(This is the first in a series of 18 articles on the relationship between Golf and the Principles of Sales Success)

I have been a golfer for over 20 years, having been forced to take up the game in my mid 20’s purely as a defense mechanism. You see I was a middle level sales manager working for a telecommunications company, getting continually roped into playing in the regional golf outings that my fortune 100 corporation thrust me into. Hockey was my game and I never did gain an appreciation for a slower paced sport such as Golf.

To make matters worse, I was a very busy up and coming salesperson, focused on furthering my career through hard work and dedicated hours. I didn’t want to interrupt my busy schedule to take some client to some golf event. Plus there was an annual outing in Harbour town each year for which I, again, had to take time out of my busy schedule to fly to Hilton Head and stand around in the rain watching a bunch of guys chasing a little white ball around. None the less, I was tired of being embarrassed playing at our regional outings, watching my assigned partner hit a long straight drive up the fairway as I hit a “worm burner” off the tee and rushed to take another shot so I would not hold up a client.

Over the years I have come to understand and have fallen in love with the game. To me there is no better elixir than to walk up the dew laden fairway on a summer morning, listening to the birds singing and seeing the sun burst over the tree line.

It has now been 20 years selling and golfing. The longer I sell and the more I golf, the more I realize that the two are inextricably linked by common themes:

  • Both require a mastery of sound fundamentals
  • Each requires self analysis and a commitment to continuous improvement
  • Both require a positive, enabling mentality in which you envision success before you arrive at your destination
  • They each require enormous integrity and a resolve to chart your direction, as each sale, as well as each shot offers a new perspective, depending upon where you find yourself
  • And, above all, both are a reflection of your life and how you live it

Join me over the next 18 months as we “walk the course” and touch upon a different sales skill at every hole.

Hole #1: Sound Fundamentals

"Golf pros begin with the fundamentals; knowing that if the fundamentals are flawed you can never take your game to the next level. The same applies to sales pros."

Both success at golf and success at sales require strong skills. Your goal in each is to commit a sound repeatable process to memory. The foundation of success in each lies in an ability to execute on strong fundamentals which have become second nature and are effectively committed to “muscle memory.”

Golf requires mastery of three fundamental concepts. The first requirement is a positive, enabling “swing thought,” in which you visualize a positive result prior to addressing the ball. This confident “swing thought” is predicated by a silent confidence in a strong basic skill set which can only be derived from ownership of a swing mastered through practice and preparation. Finally, a successful outcome is directly related to your ability to effectively manage the course, steering clear of the hazards.

Similarly, sales mastery requires consistent execution of three similar fundamentals:

  1. Outlook: A positive and enabling outlook which enables you to overcome adversity and bounce back from regular set backs.
  2. Competency: A repeatable sales process, committed to “muscle memory” which enables you to consistently control the sales process at all stages and negotiate the various obstacles which you encounter.
  3. Activity: A rigorous self-discipline to practice and preparation matched by a strong focus on activity management, linked to a strategic plan which supports your goals.

The old adage, that “successful people do that which unsuccessful people refuse to do,” is applicable here. The reality is that sales people generally do not fail because they lack a skill set. Most sales people fail because they do not manage themselves aggressively on their fundamentals: outlook, competency and activity.

The primary character trait shared by successful sales people is a sense of personal accountability, as defined by one’s sense of ownership of results, whether they be favorable or unfavorable. This characteristic you will find in all successful athletes and, in fact, all successful people from any walk in life.

 


 

Donald J. Hahn is President of Hahn & Associates, an award winning Sandler Sales Institute Training & Coaching Firm. He has enjoyed a successful 26 year sales and sales management career and has experience in sales and management training, as well as marketing, recruiting, customer service, business development, and mentoring solutions.

A Certified Franklin Covey Coach, past President of the Buffalo Niagara Sales & Marketing Executives, member of the American Society for Training & Development and the International Coaching Federation, Don provides the needed executive training and coaching to take clients to the next level - achieving increased profitability, improved customer satisfaction, maximum market penetration, and enhanced selling performance.

In addition, Don is the author and owner of a reliable interviewing tool entitled H.I.R.E, which improves sales candidate selection and is a guest speaker for the Keep It In the Fairway’s Northeast Region Seminars.

Email: dhahn@hahnsales.com
Company Profile: Hahn Sales Training
Company URL: http://www.hahn.sandler.com

 

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