It’s a (half) marathon…
Yesterday, alongside over 60,000 other folk, I completed the Great North Run. 13.1miles / 21km running around Newcastle in a cacophony of noise and cheering, all culminating in the run down into South Shields and that finishers (survivors) medal. It’s a fantastic event, the largest participation half marathon in the world, with runners of every size, shape and age participating, all for their own reasons.
Those two hours gave me time to think. Distance running is a lot like sales. Here’s how.
This week’s Three Things is dedicated to everyone yesterday who had the courage to get onto that start line. Enjoy.
#1. Put a plan together
You don’t just turn up and run a half marathon*. Once you’ve made the decision to enter a race, you devise a training plan to incrementally build up your stamina, speed, distance to get you to that start line.
Sales is no different. Prior to a product or service launch there are hard yards to do in identifying customer problems, crafting sales messages, defining buyer personas, creating your target market. You need to build sales decks, FAQ documents, brainstorm potential objections and how to answer. The list goes on. As with running though, the more you put in before the start, the better the start will be.
*unless you’re my mate Nimms, but he’s a freak of nature.
#2. There’s no substitute for getting the miles in
To prepare for a race you will incrementally build up the distances you run over a series of weeks (or months if you’re better prepared than me). This helps your legs to adjust to the increased distance and impact, building the muscle memory so that there are no surprises when you get to the start line. You’ll use your training runs to test out different running paces, equipment, nutrition gels etc to decide on the optimal mix for your race.
Building your sales muscle memory is no different. Start small. Practice your pitch on smaller customers and/or targets you don’t yet know and have a lower starting probability of converting. Test and refine your proposition, tweaking and learning as you go. Try different techniques and sales messages – bin those that don’t work or feel right. By the time you get to the start line (launch), you’ll have a razor sharp sales patter that covers all bases.
#3. Run your own race
When the gun sounds on race day that’s it. It’s just you against the distance. All the training and preparation are done – now it’s just one foot in front of the other, over and over again until the finish. Make sure you run your own race. Don’t be tempted to speed up in the early stages because you feel good – it will come back to bite you later on!
Sales is a long distance sport. In professional services, the distances are getting longer. More sophisticated buying processes, increased stakeholders in a buying decision and the rise and rise of procurement teams are elongating the sales cycle. At times, it will feel like there is no end to the process and a sale is impossible. At these times, fall back on your training and the preparation you’ve done. Stick to what you know and all the miles you’ve put in. Just put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Never give up.
Final thought
When the race is done and the sale is made, allow yourself a brief moment of congratulations at a job well done. Then sign up for the next race…. 😉.
