Sales productivity increases by practicing as you play

Companies don’t make decisions–people do, and people make business decisions for personal reasons. Too often, salespeople, sales managers, and marketing managers, forget this simple reality making things more difficult than necessary. Sales productivity diminishes because too much time is devoted to simple, non-critical and non-personal issues that do not result in more value for decision-makers. Turning low value activities into routine, leaves you with more capacity to apply more innovative thought to high value activities. The same high-value activities that positively affect personal buying decisions.

In sports, coaches emphasize the benefits from ‘practicing as you play.’ Athletes play better when key performance attributes become routine. Basketball players practice free throws enough that they become routine, down to how many times they dribble the ball before shooting. With routine comes consistency and with consistency comes more points. A baseball shortstop practices the throw to first base repeatedly, from all different angles, such that it becomes a routine throw. With routine comes consistency and with consistency comes more putouts.

When simpler issues become routine, difficult issues become simpler.

In music, teachers emphasize the benefits from ‘practicing as you play.’ With guitar playing, you benefit from ‘practicing as you play’ so that when performing, fingering and chord patterns are not new—they are routine. With routine, the guitar player can apply more thought to what other musicians are playing which allows them to insert tasteful improvisations, during a performance. The accomplished guitar player does not need to think about routine play thus creating more capacity for improvisational artistry. This is the difference between good players and great players.

When simpler issues become routine, difficult issues become simpler.

Your sales productivity benefits by ‘practicing as you play.’ The Five Abilities teaches you to make routine, the process of assessing customer problems and aiming your best next actions. This gives you increased capacity for innovative, targeted problem solving. Solving problems in ways that are more specific to the decision-maker’s business and personal priorities, leads you to increased sales productivity. You’ll acquire more business and you’ll earn more lifelong customers.

When simpler issues become routine, difficult issues become simpler.

When you address the difficult issues in simpler ways you become more productive. When you’re more productive you win more business and you win more lifelong customers.

©2016 Rick Wong – The Five Abilities® LLC