Did you know that you could use sporting principles to help boost your sales performance? Let's start by comparing both sports teams and sales teams to see their similarities and differences. 

Sports teams & Sales teams

Results and performance: 

When it comes to sports teams it's not just about the results such as scoring a goal or winning a match in football. It's about monitoring the performance of the team. 

However, sales teams will focus on just the results. Monitoring sales performance is important because it helps everyone on the team identify which tactics are successful and which approaches are not. By being able to see how your team is performing, you will be able to make smart decisions.

Structured skills analysis:

Sports teams have structured skills analysis to identify areas they can improve on so that they always have an aim to work towards and improve on. 

Sales teams will rarely have a skills framework in place. Which can make it difficult to identify the areas that need improvement. Incorporating a skills framework allows your sales team to see what areas they need to improve on and aim to work towards. 

Practise:

As you know when it comes to sports in general it's about practice, especially practising as a team. Because without practice you won't improve. 

However, sales teams will rarely practice which will leave no room for improvement. Having practice in sales is a good way for you to identify both the correct and bad habits that you may not identify before. The only way to improve your sales pitch is through practising. 

Having a plan: 

When a sports team has a well-planned plan, it creates a clear and mapped-out plan of both the risks and goals when it comes to the game they are playing such as football, basketball etc. Therefore, making it quicker and easier to make decisions during the game. 

Sales teams will often plan erratically which can cause a plan to not go as they would want it to. Having a solid plan allows you to plan both the risks and goals that could happen so you know what to do in either situation. 

Goals:

It is essential to set short, medium and long-term goals when it comes to sports. Short-term goals can help keep you both focused and motivated daily, whereas long-term goals give you something to work towards. 

Sales teams are often very driven by short-term needs. Having short, medium and long term is important instead of just short term because although short-term goals can keep you and your team motivated and focused, long-term goals give you something to work towards and improve on.