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(This is the third in a series of 18 articles on the relationship between Golf and the Principles of Sales Success. Read Hole #2: Analyze Swing)
"It’s virtually impossible to hit the desired golf shot if you do not have the appropriate club in your bag. Sales, like golf, requires choosing the proper tools for the proper occasion."
Reflect back on the last time you played a wet course, and you were required to play “cart paths only.” Do you recall standing on the cart path gazing some 50 yards across the fairway in the general direction of your wayward shot and having to select a couple of clubs which might be appropriate for the next shot? As you walk toward your ball, you discover that the lie was not what you anticipated, and here you are, having not one, but two totally inappropriate clubs in your hand. Given the choice of slowing down the pace of play, or choosing between two inappropriate clubs and keeping ahead of the foursome on the tee behind, you sigh, choose one of the clubs and “make do” despite the fact you know it is an entirely inappropriate club selection. You stretch your ability and try to massage the shot as best you can. The outcome is fairly predicable, and you curse under your breath as the ball flies the green, coming to rest in the thick cut…12 feet off the green.
We all know intellectually that if you do not have the right club in your bag, you shouldn’t even attempt that particular shot. Club selection is critical as you attempt to lower your handicap, however, bravado, testosterone, pride or misjudgment enter into the equation…with predictable results.
Every one of us has a special club in which we have a special confidence. For some reason we are able to hit this club with greater consistency and accuracy, thus we have gained a special confidence when using it. That club becomes your “go to club” and you use it on every possible occasion. In sales, as in golf, it is vital to choose the appropriate club, or sales move, for the specific occasion. You must analyze your “lie” or position and choose the appropriate move. The most vital clubs, or tools, you possess in your sales bag are:
• Effective questioning techniques
• Competitive knowledge
• Product knowledge
If a prospect asks a question, or states an objection, what club do you pull from your sales bag? Have you pre-rehearsed that shot, or are you in unfamiliar territory. Do you know the competitor’s Achilles heal, and can you deftly navigate the issue without slamming the competitor? Finally, how do use product knowledge? Is it information you dump on the prospect to impress them or overwhelm them? Do you use competitive knowledge to apply solutions to their business problems?
My experience over the years is that most sales people do not carry enough tools (clubs) in their sales bag, and even if they do, they do not choose the appropriate club given their position…or they try “heroic” low percentage shots.
The results are predictable.
Read Hole #2: Analyze Swing
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
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