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by Kelly Riggs
Name one skill of any consequence that does NOT require practice to excel at that skill.
Uhhhh….
Anything?
Of course not. You cannot, and will not, perfect any skill unless and until you practice.
Which means that your employees are practicing to improve their skills, or YOU are guilty of the ultimate performance killer – no practice.
Yes, I know, some people seem to get to an acceptable level of proficiency quicker than others. Some folks just seem to have a knack or a gift for certain skills. Some are even good enough to skip by simply because they are naturally much better than most.
But, forget the outliers. Their native talent will take them to a certain level, but it won’t make them the best of the best. That takes practice.
Lots of practice.
More importantly, the evidence is pretty clear – we’re not usually all that successful in hiring those outliers. Very few sales leaders consistently hire “A” players. [In my experience, those that do always appreciate the value of training and practice!]
The truth is that, at some point – for some it’s earlier than others – a substantial amount of purposeful practice will be a non-negotiable aspect of consistent, long-term success. So, would you care to explain why you don’t require your team to practice?
Hmmm?
Let me help. Here are the reasons I hear:
1. Your salespeople complain. You see, they don’t like to practice. It’s too hard. They don’t like to be “embarrassed.”
2. You know how to sell – after all, you were a superstar salesperson – but you’re not very good at teaching and coaching.
3. You personally don’t enjoy practice, so you avoid it.
4. You think practice is time that could be better used getting in front of prospects.
5. You personally don’t have time to oversee practice.
Those are the Top 5 excuses in a landslide. And, just as an aside, No. 5 is probably the single most common excuse (see my post, “The 4 Most Dangerous Words in Your Leadership Vocabulary”).
But let’s take a minute and take a look at those really lame excuses in a different context.
“So, coach, tough loss out there today. What do you take away from today’s game that you can improve in practice?”
“Practice?”
“Uh, yeah. Practice. You know, next week? What will you work on?
“Well, here’s the deal. We don’t really practice. My players are not big fans of practice. It’s taxing on the players, and frankly, they don’t like to have to practice their positions in front of other players. It’s kinda embarrassing. It’s tough enough to play in this league without those kind of distractions.
“You’re kidding, right?
“Of course (nervous chuckle). Just trying to lighten the tension a bit. Actually, the truth is, we really don’t have time to practice. I mean, we’ve got a lot on our plates, you know. We’ve got to scout the next team. Break down film. Get our game plan together. Plus, we’re traveling next week – you can’t even imagine that logistics nightmare. Wow.”
“Coach, seriously (looking around). I mean…I know the loss hurts, but I’m sure you guys are already looking to bounce back next week. I’m just looking for a few details on practice next week. What will you focus on?”
“Oh, right. Of course. Well, the thing is, practice really isn’t my thing. You know what I’m sayin’? 6 Pro Bowls. An MVP. Two trips to the Super Bowl. What I’m gettin’ at is either my players can play or they can’t. I think we just need to work harder at getting the right guys in the right positions and those wins are gonna take care of themselves. Make sense?”
“Well…not really, no. I mean, I’m not really sure how to think about that, coach. You were 9-7 last year. 6-10 before that. And you’re off to a slow start this year. It’s hard to imagine that you don’t….uh…practice.
“Look, son. I don’t know how much football you’ve played. Not much? That’s what I figured, so let me clue you in. All that wasted time on the practice field can be used in much better ways. My players are spending time in the community. They’re participating in team-building activities. And they’ve got to prepare detailed reports on each game and their individual performances. Plus, do you know how much effort they put into reviewing their play books? OK? So, what I’m sayin’ is that “practice” (air finger quotes) sounds all fine and dandy, but we’ve got a job to do. That is how you can think about it.”
That’s what your excuses sound like.
LAME.
Silly, actually.
Your team isn’t winning consistently, and you’ve got salespeople that consistently underperform. And you don’t practice?
Let’s go back to square one: You don’t get better at anything without practice.
Here are some ideas to consider:
Deming said, “If you can’t describe what you’re doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” What that means is you need to know where to start. If you can’t determine why people succeed – and why they fail – you really don’t know what needs to be practices.
Step 1: Have a detailed process you can assess, teach, and replicate.
The next obvious step is to know and understand what skills a particular salesperson needs to develop in order to succeed. In football, it’s blocking and tackling. And footwork. And throwing. And catching. And dozens of other things, each depending on your position on the field.
Step 2: Figure out the mission-critical skills for salespeople for each step in the process.
And right about now is when the concept of practice becomes important.
When I started in sales, my first boss made it very clear: I would be able to demonstrate to him that I could adequately present our products before I went into the field to represent the company. Oh, and the clock is ticking. You’ve got a certain amount of time to do so. If you can’t, we just can’t use you.
Role play is tough. No question. It will test your mettle. But either you can or you can’t, and if you can’t, “we just can’t use you.” Are you seriously trying to convince me that you are stellar in front of prospects, but you can’t present your product in front of the boss because you’re embarrassed? Or, you don’t like criticism?
And you’re in SALES?
Step 3: Make role-play and other forms of practice a habit. A regular habit. You’ll be shocked at how much people hate it. And you’ll be shocked at how much they improve. And, then, finally, you’ll be shocked at how much they embrace the idea. Winning cures a lot of ills.
Sales is the ultimate one-on-one game. AND, it’s the ultimate team game.
In so many ways, it is like your favorite sport.
You must play well, and everyone else on the team must play well.
And you MUST practice. If you want to win, that is.
It’s not tough to be mediocre. Just look around.
I have yet to meet the sales team that does role play that doesn’t outperform the competition. And I never see an average sales team practicing.
Never.
Oh, by the way. Do you struggle to get rid of your under-performing salespeople?
Try asking them to role-play in front of you and their peers.
Kelly Riggs is a business performance coach and founder of the Business LockerRoom. A former national Salesperson of the Year and serial entrepreneur, Kelly is a recognized thought leader in the areas of sales, management leadership, and strategic planning. He serves clients ranging from small, privately held companies to Fortune 500 firms. Kelly has written two books: “1-on-1 Management™: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t” and “Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.”
