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(This is the fourth in a series of 18 articles on the relationship between Golf and the Principles of Sales Success. Read Hole #3: Right Club?)
“If you're going to throw a club, it is important to throw it ahead of you, down the fairway, so you don't have to waste energy going back to pick it up.” -Tommy Bolt
Accomplished golfers recognize the importance of “managing the course.” More strokes are lost on the golf course as a result of course mismanagement than for any other reason. If you are getting off the tee well and consistently hitting the fairway, course management becomes much easier. The reality in golf (and sales) is that we do not always find ourselves in the fairway, with an unobstructed shot to the green. The course contains obstructions, hazards and perils which make the game so challenging.
One must evaluate your lie, evaluate alternative shots, choose the appropriate club and of course, execute on the shot. Naturally, the tougher the lie, the tougher the choices you must make and the better your execution must be.
If you wish to maximize your sales effectiveness you must negotiate the course extremely well. Your “course” is your territory; which by definition is the entire universe of opportunities open to you. You can liken each hole to the account which you are attempting to sell. The tougher the territory, the more challenging the course and the more hazards you will confront.
As you manage your sales course you need to insure you are grooming the territory. Your business comes from one of only 2 sources: existing clients or new prospects. Are you executing on a robust personal, written strategic plan which is designed to warm up potential prospects? Are you using multiple prospecting sources, based on empirical data which insures you are touching your “best fit” prospects and grooming them to join you as a playing partner? If you are like most companies, 80% of your business comes from existing accounts. You need written account plans for your larger opportunities. If you are approaching a large opportunity which has an incumbent vendor, do you know where you “lie”? Who is your champion? What is your position versus the competition? What are your offensive and defensive tactics and timelines?
Finally, how do you sift through the myriad of information that comes at you each day: email, voice mail, customer service issues? How do you maintain a focus on high gain activities? Time management and habit are the root causes of most sales rep failures. Until you proactively take personal accountability to fix the time management conundrum, you will not be able to effectively manage your sales course. Sales success is directly related to your ability to effectively and proactively manage 3 things:
1) Your accounts
2) Your territory
3) Your time.
Learn to manage your sales course, or it will manage you.
Read Hole #3: Right Club?
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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