He never had a losing season as a head coach in the NFL, despite taking over some very poorly performing teams, first the Green Bay Packers and then the Washington Redskins. In his honor, the Super Bowl trophy is called the Lombardi Trophy. Such was his legacy as a football coach.
What was behind the success and all the wins?
Lombardi was a great teacher.
Lombardi was trained to teach academics, which was very evident when you watched him coach his football team. He understood that commitment and dedication were necessary if his lessons were to take hold. In fact, “Lombardi Time” is still followed by many athletic coaches today. If you’re 15 minutes early, then you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re already late.
He set high expectations.
He expected commitment to be demonstrated on and off the field. His expectations led to dramatic turnarounds and many championships. In his personal life, he experienced many challenges but displayed the same dedication to turning things around time and time again. He wasn’t just dedicated to football; he was also committed to his family and his faith.
As a sales coach, you are painfully aware of the obstacles that stand in the way of a winning sales team. Maybe your organization needs a dramatic turnaround. Perhaps it just needs leadership that can model the characteristics that lead to success: traits like commitment and a willingness to pick ourselves up and try again.
Here’s how to use Lombardi’s tips to build a winning sales team.
Vince Lombardi knew that discipline and a will to be excellent are the keys to overcoming the barriers we all face in life. As you work to inspire your sales team toward excellence, it’s essential to encourage persistence in meeting goals. But first, it’s critical to understand what selling challenges are most important.
In one of our recent white papers, we offer some insight on how how a lack of commitment can cause sales staff to make critical mistakes in trying to close a sale. Effective reps are very intentional about determining the steps that are critical to advancing the relationship, and they’re also very dedicated to ensuring those steps help distinguish their solution in the marketplace.
So, what are sales reps doing that are leading them to mistakes?
Here are three of the top selling mistakes often made by reps:
- The sales rep begins the call without knowing what they want to happen at the end of the call.
- The sales rep chooses the wrong event or next step.
- The sales rep is afraid of creating a “fork in the road.”
To get more insight into the 7 barriers that are keeping you from building a winning sales team download our ebook today:
We walk through additional barriers to prospecting, plus we’ll share our strategies for overcoming these obstacles with discipline and excellence.
Have questions for us? Feel free to contact us with questions, or drop us a comment below.
Sean Robertson
As VP of Solutions, Sean’s passion is developing and creating a learning experience that emotionally taps into each learner, matches ASLAN’s commitment to excellence, and exceeds our client’s wildest expectations. Find him on: LinkedIn.
