As I write, we have come to the end of ‘Masters Week’ that kicks off the ‘Majors Season’ of the Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour. Many golfers say this is the best week of the year. The Masters Tournament is the only major tour event played at the same course every year, Augusta National Country Club. It also marks the first time each season when the best male golfers in the world come together to compete for one of the most coveted championships in golf. Winning the “Green Jacket” defines a career.
Watching the tournament on television, you hear commentators talk about the different swings, of the players, taught by different swing coaches. While swings and players are different, the common goal among all coaches and players is to create a routine that serves as the foundation by which to choose and execute on the best next shot. The best golfers religiously practice and execute on those routines resulting in more wins.
There are many parallels between golfers and sales people. The best sales people have strict routines they follow to choose and execute on their best next actions. A good sales methodology adds structure to those routines to make them more repeatable and teachable. Having a methodology that narrows the focus around the best next things to accomplish simplifies the process of choosing the best next actions for the best sales people.
Another similarity is in how the best golfers and sales people prepare to win. The best golfers play a lot of golf. Similarly, the best sales people do a lot of selling. Certainly, golfers and sales people have a game plan but the best know that nothing advances their winning form more than doing it. A good sales methodology facilitates less planning and more selling. More focused selling means more wins.
There is current thinking that supports the notion that more focus on execution and less on planning is the winning way in the modern business world. This is the topic of Bill Conerly’s recent article in Fortune titled “The Death of Strategic Planning: Why?” The simple message from current CEOs is that more focus on solid and agile execution, rather than long-term, static plans, is the path to success with the accelerated pace of global business.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/billconerly/2014/03/24/the-death-of-strategic-planning-why/
The Five Abilities® is the methodology we use to teach sales people and companies how to do quick, real-time, agile planning that focuses daily sales execution on addressing the reasons customers buy. We minimize the classroom time and maximize the execution time. We educate, plan and enhance while you take your best next actions. The result is more wins that come from more time spent executing on the best next sales actions.
This year Bubba Watson chose his best next shots better than everyone else who played The Masters Tournament. Like Bubba, the best sales people create a routine that serves as the foundation by which to choose and execute on their best next actions. Congratulations Bubba and all of you winning sales people out there.
©2014 Rick Wong – The Five Abilities, LLC
