Over the weekend, I was reminiscing with some of my old Army friends. We decided to bust out the photo library we built during our 14 months in the middle east in 2003 and 2004 during Operation Iraqi Freedom 1.
The photo we came across, which you can see above, I want to be a valuable lesson for you, when it comes to sales and management. The picture happened to be one of me cleaning my M249 SAW. I carried this 30 pound fully automatic machine gun around for over a year. It literally became a part of my wardrobe, no different than how you put on a pair of shoes every day. I lugged that thing around everywhere I went… First off, because those were the force protection rules, also, because I didn’t want to fall under attack, and not be ready.
There I was at 20 years old, uniform covered in salt stains from sweating in the 120+ degree heat, my stylish high and tight haircut, face sunburn thanks to the Iraqi desert sun. Focused like a laser on scrubbing the dust and sand out of every crevasse in my weapon.
Those weapons that the Army supplied us with could be extremely finicky. They must be properly maintained to ensure proper functionality. The last thing you want to do is enter an ambush, or any other sort of gun fight for that matter, and not be able to defend yourself due to a weapon jam. When that happens, you must perform “SPORTS”. That’s when you “Slap, Pull, Observe, Release, Tap, Shoot” to clear the weapon to try and get it firing again. This takes precious seconds that could mean the difference between life and death.
The time spent preparing for battle versus actually in combat was probably a million to one, but every time combat happened, I was ready. It was a matter of life and death and I took myself and my team coming home, very seriously.
What if you as a sales manager, or salesperson, applied this same dedication in preparation for the sale? When you have a customer working with your sales people, on the phone, or in front of you, the combat has begun. If you haven’t prepared, there will be missed opportunities when the right questions aren’t asked and we fail to handle objections. That is the sales equivalent of a weapon jam mid combat. Lives won’t be lost, but in this case, the customer walks out on you, and buys from your competition. In sales, your weapons are your attitude, skills, routine, interpersonal skills and product knowledge. How much time do you spend honing those skills before an engagement? Managers, are your salespeople so prepared for opportunity that they cannot fail, or are you training during the fight in hopes they learn then?
Make time every day for doing one of the most critical activities to sales and leadership success: Clean your weapon… Train, coach, role play, study, practice, to ensure every possible victory in sales. Stop training during the fight and be ready for battle, preparation sells!