Are football watchers better salespeople?(extra credit)

Each year brings new excitement for every football fan. Maybe this year we will win it all. Enthusiasm and spirits are running high--just like the beginning of a new year for a sales team. This year will be the year everything comes together and we beat our competition and move up the market share rankings.

While these feelings of excitement and optimism are great, the reality of the season kicks in at some point. College football fans can feel the highs of victory and the lows of defeat. Playing a good game is not enough, and as every sales person knows, second place is not victory.

As a college football junkie, er, fan, watching TV during football season is a requirement for living. One day after eight hours of continuous game viewing, a question was posed, "What can a person learn or gain from all of this college football?"

At first, all the defensive answers would run through one's mind--like blitzing linebackers, fast and furious. Then calmer thoughts and self directed questions begin to flow. After several hours of reflection and honest self-evaluation, an announcement was made: "Honey, watching college football is making me a better salesperson!" Without supporting facts, this was a brave announcement. Therefore, here are seven points taken from years of watching football and applying the lessons of the great programs. The seven points are as follows:

Preparation. As a salesperson, preparation gets you ready to make the sale and win the account's business. Always have a call plan, account plans and a personal business plan in place to reference. Anticipation is critical in your account relationships, knowing more about your customers gives you the advantage. Also, selling, just like college football is a year round activity. Do the little things today than win the big things later.

Practice. Practice as perfect as you can, then you can deal with actual situations with confidence. Losers believe practice is for someone else. Then, while face-to-face with a decision maker, they do not execute at a high level. Learn and practice the winning techniques--it's your choice to be a winner.

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