“The key is not the will to win. Everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.”
― Bobby Knight
In sales, the will to win plus a cup of coffee is worth about $2.
The better question is…do you possess the determination and ability to properly execute the tasks and make the judgments that lead to wins?
Without proper preparation to win, the will to win the sales wars is shallow, weak, and easily beaten.
Without proper execution of tasks that lead to the wins, the will to win is useless.
Without depth of knowledge and sufficient know-how to make proper judgments along the way, the will to win is useless.
Ask yourself, is lack of effort the issue or is it your know-how, targeting, qualifying, questioning, messaging, sales process, follow-up, proposals or closing?
More activity, superficial preparation, shallow know-how and skimming layups off the top of your prospect pool is not the mindset of those that truly have the “will to win.”
Those with the will to win focus on interacting with the right targets the right way rather than thinking more activity will make up for their lack of results.
Those with the will to win concentrate on properly executing each individual step of a process most likely to lead to wins, rather than think that half-measures and superficial execution is enough.
Those with the will to win, focus on seeking wins beyond the layups and those that willingly jump into the boat. They know that true top performance means gaining ground beyond the point where other reps give up. Those with the will to win, due to their preparation and proper execution of every step are able to gain commitments and recon information beyond the point where other reps give up. They “win” in the gray areas of buyer doubt and uncertainty that most reps dare not tread.
If you are thinking, “I don’t have time,” why do you have the time to keep doing things that leave you short of your goal?
Without proper preparation, you are chasing randomness. A broken clock is right twice a day. You might survive or do OK with these two wins a day, but that is not a system. A properly thought out and prepared system that you can improve, manage, and work consistently to control your destiny.
Add more preparation (and practice) to your will to win the sales wars and you can reap the rewards of selling to your full potential.
A bit more from Bobby Knight…
“The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win. Everyone wants to win but not everyone wants to prepare to win. Preparing to win is where the determination that you will win, is made. Once the game or test, or project is underway, it is too late to prepare to win. The actual game, test or project is just the end of a long process of getting ready, in which the outcome was really determined. So if you want to win, you must want to prepare to win. Once you prepare to win, winning is almost anti-climactic.” – Bobby Knight”
Reread the above quote. Once you are in the game it is too late. When times are tough and results are few, don’t make the mistake that most do and just ramp up activity thinking it will make a difference. It rarely does.
When times are tough and results are few, take a step back to do the preparation and get the proper know-how to win.
