What do salespeople and world class athletes have in common?


You may start to

wonder if

salespeople

are a bunch of

Monday-morning

quarterbacks and

cheerleaders reliving

their glory days like

Uncle Rico in

Napoleon Dynamite.


“Back in ‘82,

I used to be able

to throw a pigskin

a quarter-mile.” —Uncle Rico


Today’s top athletes are changing

the game.


Today’s top athletes are changing

the game.

Here are a few

new strategies

smart sales reps

can use in their

playbook to build

relationships and

close sales faster.

Don’t let someone else choose your goals.

– Shaun White switched

from soccer to

snowboarding

because there was

less outside pressure

(soccer moms).


Don’t let someone else choose your goals.

– Find the path,

vision and goals

that fit your strengths -

even if they are a little

extreme - and

you will strike gold.



Take an honest look in the mirror.

– Successful athletes don’t take shortcuts.


Take an honest look in the mirror.

– Successful athletes don’t take shortcuts.

– Ask yourself: “What shortcuts do I take every

day that are leading me away from my goals

and not closer to them?”


Don’t go it alone.

– Gone are the days when a lonely athlete training in silence bursts onto the scene.


Don’t go it alone.

– Gone are the days when a lonely athlete training in silence bursts onto the scene.

– Athletes have pit crews, trainers and coaches. The faster you build a team of marketers, legal and technical people around you, the sooner you will build your book of business.


Be different.

– At one time, the curveball, forward pass and

the instant replay were nowhere to be found

in the sports world.


Be different.

– At one time, the curveball, forward pass and

the instant replay were nowhere to be found

in the sports world.

– Breakthroughs were developed

by those who challenged and

questioned current thinking.

Are you thinking differently and

going against the grain?


Stop trying to multitask.

– Coach Herb Brooks of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” USA men’s hockey team knew the power of focusing his team’s energy on one thing.


Stop trying to multitask.

– Coach Herb Brooks of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” USA men’s hockey team knew the power of focusing his team’s energy on one thing.

– Juggling many tasks may impress co-workers but focused performers achieve their goal.


Bring on the competition.

– Rivals like Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson and baseball’s Yankees vs. Red Sox are notable not because there is a winner and a loser – but because there are two winners.


http://www.biworldwide.com/en/white-papers/employee-engagement/incentives-and-baseball?utm_source=SlideShare&utm_medium=Slide&utm_campaign=Sales


Bring on the competition.

– Organizations that go head-to-head with the best-of-the-best emerge successful.



http://www.biworldwide.com/en/white-papers/employee-engagement/incentives-and-baseball?utm_source=SlideShare&utm_medium=Slide&utm_campaign=Sales


– Some athletes love to talk! Strategies, goals, ideas, problems, plans, etc.

Shut up already.


– Some athletes love to talk! Strategies, goals, ideas, problems, plans, etc.

– Save the talking for the celebration AFTER you achieve your goals – you will get there so much faster.

Shut up already.

Be picky


– Have you ever argued about who is the best athlete of all time?

You quickly find the debate switches to skills and if golf or NASCAR are really sports.

Be picky


– Have you ever argued about who is the best athlete of all time?

You quickly find the debate switches to skills and if golf or NASCAR are really sports.

– Take a look at your own strengths, be picky and determine where you have an advantage.

Reward yourself


– Lisa Jackson, author of Running Made Easy, has a training plan that includes rewards from treating yourself to a movie and spa days.

Reward yourself


– Lisa Jackson, author of Running Made Easy, has a training plan that includes rewards from treating yourself to a movie and spa days.

– Rewards like travel and luxury items that you have a hard time justifying purchasing for yourself make great rewards for hitting your goals.


a sales manager or rep looking

for a win, or even Uncle Rico

reliving your glory days,

there are new rules and strategies

that will help move you

from the middle of the pack

to the top of the podium.

Whether you are an athlete going for the gold,

between world class athletes

and top salespeople by downloading our article.

Read more about the similarities

9 Reward yourself.

The promise of a paycheck brings us all to work but current research in behavioral economics

confirms that individuals will work harder for a non-cash reward. If you are strictly motivating

yourself or your team with only monetary rewards, you will run out of money before you reach

your goals. Rewards like travel and luxuries that people have a hard time justifying buying for

themselves make the best rewards. Lisa Jackson, author of “Running Made Easy”, has a beginner’s

training plan that includes rewards ranging from treating yourself to a movie, splurging on a spa

day or simply enjoying your favorite meal when you reach your goals.

Whether you are an athlete going for the gold, a sales manager or rep looking for a win, or even

Uncle Rico reliving your glory days, there are new rules and strategies that will help you separate

yourself from the middle of the pack and achieve top performance. If you want to change the game,

you need to stop talking about change and set new goals – your own goals – for where you want

to be when the buzzer sounds, the game is over and the champion is crowned.

BIWORLDWIDE applies the science of behavioral economics to design, communicate and

reward salespeople for the behaviors and results that make your organization successful. We offer

a number of solutions to help our clients drive results, including GoalQuest®, the only patented

incentive solution in the industry.

Source:

1. Wise, Mike. “Code Rad for American Snowboarder.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/09/AR2006020902115.html

For more information on BIWORLDWIDE and GoalQuest®, visit:

BIWORLDWIDE.com/GoalQuest or email us at [email protected]

BIWORLDWIDE.com | Australia | Canada | China | India | Latin America | United Kingdom | United States

WhAt DO WORLD-CLASS AthLEtES AnD tOp pERfORmIng SALES pEOpLE hAvE In COmmOn?

What do World-class athletes and top performing sales people have in common?

figure skaters have multiple coaches and long-distance runners have training partners that help

them push even further. The sales process may start with a lonely cold-call but rarely do you get a

contract signed without a team effort. Technical, legal, product and marketing support is essential

to sales success and building long-term customer relationships. The faster you build a team, the

sooner you will build your book of business.

4 Be different.

At one time, the curveball, forward pass and instant replay were nowhere to be found on the

playing field in sporting events. These breakthroughs were developed by individuals who

challenged and questioned current thinking and behavior. The forward pass was attempted 30

times (against the rules) and required sweeping changes before it became a part of the game we

know today. Are you thinking differently? Going against the grain (up to 30 times unsuccessfully)

despite the odds? Challenging current thinking? And raising the bar for everyone around you at

every opportunity – every day?

5 Stop trying to multi-task.

Few sports stories are as inspirational as the 1980 USA men’s hockey “Miracle on Ice” team. Coach

Herb Brooks knew the power of focusing his team’s energy on one thing at a time to achieve

victory. The best coaches and players know there’s a time to practice and a time to play the game,

a time to strategize and a time to execute. They know when to play it safe and when to take risks.

And perhaps most importantly, they know when to be mentally tough and when to let their emotions

go. Juggling many tasks may impress co-workers but focused performers achieve their goals.

6 Bring on the competition.

The best way to raise your game is to take on the toughest competition. Rivalries like basketball’s

Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson, soccer’s Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, baseball’s Yankees vs. Red

Sox are notable not because there’s a winner and a loser – but because there are two winners.

Individuals and organizations that go head-to-head with the best-of-the-best emerge successful

because they challenge themselves to dig deeper and perform better than they ever would without

the competition.

7 Shut up already.

There is a growing Say-Do Gap on playing fields and in meeting rooms everywhere. We love to

talk about our goals, our strategies, our ideas, our problems and our plans. Leaders are especially

likely to talk more than they act. Behavioral economists call this trend, “preference reversals.” When

asked, we will say we believe what’s best for ourselves or what will motivate us to achieve higher

performance – but when the talking stops and the actual performance begins, we change our story

and ACT in a completely different way. Save the talking for the celebration after you achieve your

goals – and you will get there so much faster.

8 Be picky.

Try to gain agreement on who the best athlete of all time is and you will quickly find yourself in an

argument about what the criteria is and which skills are harder to master and is golf really a sport?

Top performers don’t worry about WHO is the best – they first decide WHAT GAME they will play.

The concept of idiosyncratic fit suggests: we will succeed when we perceive we have an advantage

over our competitors in a given opportunity. Take a look at your strengths, be picky and determine

where you have an advantage. Then go for it.

What do World-class athletes and top performing sales people have in common?

Walter ruckes, vice president, sales & channel engagement, Bi WorldWide

There are so many sports clichés sprinkled throughout the sales process that after awhile you start to wonder if

salespeople are a bunch of Monday-morning quarterbacks and cheerleaders trying to relive their glory days like Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite.

“Back in ‘82, i used to be able to throw a pigskin a quarter mile.” - Uncle Rico

But today’s top athletes, the ones winning the big bowl games and standing on the podium with medals around their necks, are changing the game. There are new rules for what makes an athlete successful.

Smart sales reps are using this new playbook to be more strategic, build lasting relationships and close sales faster than ever before.

Here are the new strategies that top performing players and coaches follow to achieve success:

1 Don’t let someone else choose your goals. Goals are highly personal and repeated research shows that top performers set their own goals. Shaun White, a top snowboarder and extreme sports icon, says, “I stopped playing soccer because of soccer moms. [They are] pretty intimidating to an eleven year old.”1 He switched to snowboarding, where there was less outside pressure and he could follow his own path. Understanding that your organization needs to set goals is important but don’t let those goals hold you back or intimidate you. Find the path, the vision and the goals that fit your strengths - even if they are a little extreme - and you will strike gold.

2 Take an honest look in the mirror. How many people do you know who go through life almost completely on auto-pilot? We use heuristics to make most of our decisions for us. Heuristics are defined as mental shortcuts – we couldn’t get through the day without them. But they often keep us heading in the same direction. In the book “The Art of Thinking Clearly,” Rolf Dobelli lists 99 biases and errors in thinking that can lead to unproductive behavior and failure. Ask yourself: What shortcuts do I take every day that are leading me away from my goals and not closer to them?

3 Don’t go it alone. Gone are the days when a lonely athlete, training in silence, bursts onto the scene to break a world-record and capture the world’s collective emotions. It might work in Hollywood but not in reality. NASCAR drivers have their pit crew, skiers and

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The answer might surprise you.

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What do salespeople and world class athletes have in common?

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