Who looks the happiest in this picture?
Impossible to tell, right? Why? because everyone is sharing in the glory. Not just the players but also the coaches, managers, trainers and everyone else involved with the team including the fans. It is mass euphoria!
What if a company or sales team took the same approach as sports teams?
Companies typically celebrate their top performers. Sports teams do that also, however while a player is thrilled to be named MVP he/she will still feel let down if they don't win the championship.
Sales teams and companies encourage competition among their employees. The end result is everyone is out for themselves. I want to be the top performer so that I'll get the recognition or promotion and make the most money. There is little incentive to help each other. Why would I help someone just so they could beat me and steal the glory.
On a sports team players talk to each and share ideas about all kinds of things. How to handle pressure, training tips, tendencies of the opposing players and so much more. They back each other up to the point where you will sometimes see a player fight a bigger opponent because he took a cheap shot at one his team mates. What happen when players only play for themselves (selfish)? No team could possibly win with that attitude or approach, right?
What would happen if a company or sales team approached success like a sports team does?
Yes, there would still be individual success however the bigger goal is a team win. And when a team wins everyone get's rewarded not just the stars. Everyone shares in the celebration.
The most important thing about working in a great team is that everyone has more fun. More is achieved because energy flows to fun. No one is out there struggling alone. Someone is always there to cheer you on or share some helpful advice!
What if... at sales meetings everyone attending was expected to share something that worked for them in the past week? Or shared something that wasn't working and asked for advice to fix it. It could be anything from; a novel way to greet a customer, how to get a client to open up, how to handle an objection, to how she finally got the client to say 'yes'.
A sales person might be giving away a valuable insight however if he or she gets back 10-12 good tips in return, everyone wins especially the team.
Not all ideas shared will be great and that doesn't matter because it's the open sharing of ideas that contributes to the discovery of the really creative ones. Instead of boring your team to beers at a meeting, you create a team spirit where everyone wins. You are not just playing for yourself, you are playing for the team. And with real team spirit you are happy when a team mate scores (makes a sale).
What if...instead of having a sales competition you had a team goal for the month and when it is achieved there is a reward and a celebration for everyone. The top producer could still be recognized and if he's on commission he's also going to get the monetary reward. And as with a sports team the other team members will be happy for him because he helped the team win.
I first shared this idea with a wealth management company manager about a year ago and he didn't think his staff would buy into it. Yet as a compromise he agreed to have his first year staff form a team to test out my idea.
What if... at sales meetings everyone attending was expected to share something that worked for them in the past week? Or shared something that wasn't working and asked for advice to fix it. It could be anything from; a novel way to greet a customer, how to get a client to open up, how to handle an objection, to how she finally got the client to say 'yes'.
A sales person might be giving away a valuable insight however if he or she gets back 10-12 good tips in return, everyone wins especially the team.
Not all ideas shared will be great and that doesn't matter because it's the open sharing of ideas that contributes to the discovery of the really creative ones. Instead of boring your team to beers at a meeting, you create a team spirit where everyone wins. You are not just playing for yourself, you are playing for the team. And with real team spirit you are happy when a team mate scores (makes a sale).
What if...instead of having a sales competition you had a team goal for the month and when it is achieved there is a reward and a celebration for everyone. The top producer could still be recognized and if he's on commission he's also going to get the monetary reward. And as with a sports team the other team members will be happy for him because he helped the team win.
I first shared this idea with a wealth management company manager about a year ago and he didn't think his staff would buy into it. Yet as a compromise he agreed to have his first year staff form a team to test out my idea.
They called themselves the 'Rookie All Stars'. Obviously they were at the bottom of the pack the month they started working as a team. Within 6 months they were in the middle of the pack. Performing as well as some who had been with company for 5 years or more. Now they've dropped 'Rookie' off of the team name (drunk on success me thinks) and have their sights set on winning the championship (sales leaders).
I'm told that the 'All Stars' have formed a real bond with each other becoming more than team mates, they are now close friends.
The manager has now divided up his staff into teams of 6. That way he thought he could take advantage of both the competitiveness between teams and the cooperation within each team (genius). They also had a blast making up their own team names. They now are having monthly competitions and a ton of fun. I wonder how it will affect sales a year from now?
The manager has now divided up his staff into teams of 6. That way he thought he could take advantage of both the competitiveness between teams and the cooperation within each team (genius). They also had a blast making up their own team names. They now are having monthly competitions and a ton of fun. I wonder how it will affect sales a year from now?
What if...the first words a sales manager said to employees was; what's working for you lately? Or what can I do to help you achieve your goals? What if team members said that to each other?
The sales manager I mentioned said this to me, 'what if this works so well that my teams are so busy helping each other that they don't need me?' He was joking (I think).
The sales manager I mentioned said this to me, 'what if this works so well that my teams are so busy helping each other that they don't need me?' He was joking (I think).
Psst...if you have any ideas about how to make selling more fun, please share, comments are always appreciated.
