Sports have always been close to my heart, not only because they help you remain mentally and physically fit but also the valuable lessons you learn from them.
One of my all-time favorite sports movies is “Moneyball”.
The best part is it’s full of lessons that I have been practically using in my day-to-day life as a Sales & Marketing Professional.
Some of the top lessons/learnings that have helped me are:
When the deal is over “Get Lost” – I have modified the famous dialogue from Moneyball – “When you get the answer you’re looking for, hang up.”~ Billy Beane. Most of the time I have felt that we overstay in a sales call or a meeting (Even in a toxic relationship). The important part is when we close a deal, the longer we take to close the meeting, the more we might have to give to the other party. Learn to walk away when the deal is over.
Focus on the Process and right Parameters of measurement – All other teams were focusing on batting averages whereas Billy Beane and Paul DePodesta focused on the most crucial metrics and that was “on-base and slugging percentage” Focusing on the right parameter helped them get great players at the “Lowest Price”, whereas other teams struggled. I have personally witnessed in many situations that the differentiator is small things and the way you analyze data. Most of the salespeople focus on “Sales” but forget that “Sales is a by-product” of what we do. It’s the process that is more critical. Try inverting and you will feel the difference. If you play like them, you can never beat them – Another famous line by Billy Beane in the movie that has inspired me to think differently – “If we try to play like the Yankees in here, we will lose to the Yankees out there.” Most of the time we fall into the trap of what competition is doing and try to replicate or better their strategy. A better strategy is to change the battlefield and find your niche. Though it’s easier said than done but if you meet your customers and listen to them ( LISTEN – Keyword) then you will surely find that Niche.
Challenge the Status-Quo – Old-time Pandits and Gurus of the Baseball were following a traditional approach in team selection and by bringing in science in this age-old methodology Billy Beane challenged the Status-quo and produced a “Game Changer”. In statistical parlance, “test and control” is the process where a small sample is isolated to perform a test, and then compared to the ones where no change occurred. If sample results exceeded the status quo, that was evidence that the test could be rolled out successfully. Build a culture of “test and learn” in your sales organization.
Focus on Joint Team Outcome to create Domino effect – Like any team sports, the results in Base-Ball too are a subtotal of the team’s effort. In a sales organization, the results of the sales team are not because of their solo efforts but highly dependent on the support functions too. Focus on strengthening the synchronized effort and creating an orchestra effect. I have seen many times managers focusing on just the numbers and letting go of the other key issues like customer service, accounting transparency, and key business functions, they fail to create a domino effect.
