Sales Olympics: Lessons from the Games Part 1

  1. Personal and business are intrinsically linked. When the Greek  triple jumper aired her personal (racist) views on Twitter she was quickly removed from the team and the games (her business).  Make sure what you are airing publicly is not going to mortally hurt you professionally.
  2. Always have a backup plan. World record holder in the Women’s Marathon, Paula Radcliffe, had to be pulled from the marathon.  A replacement was named immediately. You need to have a plan B for your pipeline, your proposal, and your meeting objectives.
  3. Your mental game is critical. If Michael Phelps can’t get his focus and confidence back, he will not win as expected. Don’t let an early loss ruin your entire month. Refocus, regroup and develop a new path to success.
  4. Branding. The teams with the best brands, best reputation, and most longevity tend to win the most medals in the “judged” events. Their reputations precede them and I believe that can’t help but influence the judging scores. What are you doing to pre-seed, or influence the decision makers (LEGALLY!) before the buying decision is made?