You can’t just boot the ball from the goalie and hope it’ll land in the back of the net on the other side of the pitch.
But that’s what sales efforts can sometimes feel like. And of course that almost never works.
When watching the World Cup final on Sunday I was rather impressed with how Spain played against Argentina.
I’m not the biggest football obsessive, but I enjoyed the match and I have to admit I enjoyed watching a lot of the World Cup.
There’s something that has grown on me over time about seeing 11 people (and many more behind the scenes) come together to achieve something that none on their own could.
Seeing a team play with hunger, patience, and fluidity can give you a lot to think about in the world of business.
After all while any team, on or off the pitch, may have superstars, they can rarely achieve their potential without working together in a unified passionate way.
What the heck does this have to do with sales? Perhaps not much, but a little thought came to my mind.
When you’re trying to sell a service or an offering, it can feel tempting to do what a junior footballer might do: get the ball and hoof it at the goal and hope it goes in.
This is what I see most people do when they’re just starting in sales. They go for the sale almost immediately — before they’ve made any rapport, and before they’ve even established if the other person is at all interested or even the right person to make a buying decision.
Don’t do this.
If it works, it’s because you got lucky. You may win a sales once or twice but it’s not a robust process that will enable you to win in the long run.
Instead you want to take your time. Build momentum, build control, be patient. Don’t rush, and don’t make unforced errors.
If I’ve learned anything from watching the World Cup, to win you must do more than score lucky goals. You must work together as a team, and have patience.
In football, in sales, in business, and in life, you rarely want to just score a goal. You want to win the championship.