It’s Grand Final time in Australian Rules Football (AFL)! Amidst the excitement of the sport, there are many success lessons that we can learn and apply to business/sales. Today I will share with you how to win the grand final sale for your business.
Winning the Grand Final Sale Tip #1: Maintain Discipline
There is no doubt in my mind that to reach the Grand Finals, both the Richmond Tigers and Adelaide Crows would have needed a great deal of discipline. For the players, this would have meant making personal sacrifices daily – sleeping and waking early, eating the right foods, and committing to their training regiments. To do otherwise would put them far behind their competitors.
Are you willing to pay the price for success? Can you sacrifice the guilty pleasures of today for the security and comforts of tomorrow? While we may not be professional athletes, being in peak physical condition will allow us to perform at our best in sales. The same disciplines of sleeping, eating, and exercising healthily will buy more productive hours in a day than sheer hard work will. What health discipline would make the biggest difference for you?
Winning the Grand Final Sale Tip #2: Focus on the Present & Future
The Richmond Tigers’ have faced their own challenges since their last premiership win in 1980. They have lost star players, had inadequate funding, and had their fair share of “wooden spoons.1” The club could not have reached the Grand Finals had they not focused on improving themselves now and on winning the prized cup. Dwelling on past failures would have only inhibited their ability to perform on the field.
I’m sure you can relate to making silly mistakes in your sales. I can certainly share with you some personal stories that are truly face-palm-worthy. Ruminating on them will most certainly sabotage your future. The emotion of guilt is valuable, but its purpose does not live past corrective action. Once you have committed not to repeat a mistake, give yourself permission to move on and focus on your future successes. What do you need to forgive yourself for?
Winning the Grand Final Sale Tip #3: Foster a Winning Mindset
Mental visualisation is a technique widely used in top performing athletes. Sports psychologists coach their clients on imagining themselves winning their event, embedding the idea into their subconscious mind. This practice has been proven to be highly effective in sports2.
When you call upon a prospect, do you expect to win? Did you see your success in your mind’s eye? If not, you could be missing out on sales from a lack of self-confidence. In Australia, we are afraid to stand out because of what others might think of us. This is known as “tall poppy syndrome.” Humility is not looking down on ourselves, but rather an accurate assessment. More often than not, we underestimate the value we bring to our clients. Every time you make a sales call, visualise yourself being confident. Act and speak as though you have already won the sale, and see how it changes your effectiveness!
Conclusion
To win in a competitive selling environment, we have much to learn from the world of sports. We need to be highly disciplined, focus on the present and future, and foster a winning mindset. It could be all you need to win your next “Grand Final” sale!
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Related Articles
How to Win Sales as the Underdog
The Magic of Discipline in Sales
The Greatest Predictor of Success in Sales (and Life!)
References
1 Richmond Football Club; Wikipedia
2 Does Imagery Work? Effects on Performance and Mental Skills; Weinberg; 2008
Image credit: Flickerd, Wikimedia Commons
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