5 lessons from Rafael Nadal that can be applied in sales and marketing profession

Only man in tennis history to win the same major 11 times (French Open); no other man has even won the same major nine times; only woman to win the same major 10 or more times is Margaret Court (who won 11 Australian Opens). The latest win in French Open (Oct ’20) by Rafael Nadal made him The Greatest player in history of Tennis, Greatest not only in terms of his achievements but also greatest in terms of his Unbeaten Record on Clay Courts. No doubt he is also known as “ King Of Clay”.

There are many lessons that can be learned from this and can be applied in our day to day life. During my three decades of experience I have personally felt that sports teach us many valuable lessons and they can be applied very effectively in our professional life too.

Top 5 lessons from Rafael Nadal that can be applied in sales and marketing profession are:

1. Competitive Advantage – The major differentiator between a successful professional and not so successful professional is the knowledge of his competitive advantage and utilizing it to his/her benefit. Rafael identified his Competitive advantage very early on and became invincible on clay court.  Sales people generally fail to identify their competitive advantages, for example some people have a good knack of building relations but they seldom develop this into a competitive advantage. They should make a conscious effort to develop this skill and add value to their organization and channel partners. For example they can win more customers and create win-win situation for all.
2. Fitness: Good things come to those who sweat, this has been a success mantra for Rafael, he has worked very hard on his fitness and one of the reasons that he has out played most of the top players is because of his fitness levels(despite having a weak knee). Sales profession requires lots of travelling and moving around in the field. In India particularly during summer months it can become very difficult if you are not fit. Even at senior levels fitness plays a major part, it’s no longer 9 am to 5 pm job. Working can stretch to 10 to 14 hours a day. Fitness plays a major part in keeping both mind and body active and can be the biggest differentiator & growth catalyst.
3. Persistence : Onthe surface Rafael appears to be a restless and someone who wants to run down his competitor but he plans his moves very carefully and not only plays close to the net but also long shots. He is very persistence in his overall strategy and pushes the opponent to make mistakes and enchases on them. Sales profession is also like a chess or tennis match, most of the times we have to anticipate the moves of customers, competition (opponents) and ensure that we align the objective to such moves and be persistence. I have seen sales people give up after some attempts and either start asking discounts or some special inputs.
4.  Movement (Court Coverage): Rafael Nadal’s biggest asset early on in his career was his supreme movement and court coverage. His foot speed and court coverage rank among the best in the history of the sport. Players would often fire at bullet speed in an open corner, thinking they will definitely earn a point, only for Nadal to come sprinting out of nowhere and make an astonishing return and win a point. Sales profession requires similar speed and knowledge of sales territory. Coverage of market and response time helps not only in speedy service but also keep customers retained. Most of the time sales people tend to visit limited areas and also have a tendency of slow response time. Result is a no brainer.
5. Predictability & Home Work: Predictability can lead to failure, that’s why Rafael is so successful, as he is not predictable. He positions himself in the middle of the court, thus keeping his opponent constantly guessing on the corner he is about to pick. On the other hand he does his home work and studies the opponent and plans his game. Sales profession is so similar, the moment you become predictable the competition can really eat you up. Over my three decades of sales career I have seen that the most successful people have a tendency to surprise you. They can change the game and are not predictable.

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