My Dad used to quote Juan Manuel Fangio (the great Formula 1 driver) to me before every race.
“To finish first, you must first finish.”
A friend of mine, upon finalizing the creation of a racecar they were building, said “We’re going to try and finish, mostly.” George loves to race and intends to win… hence the dryly stated “mostly”. He also knows they first, have to finish the race, with a brand new car design finishing isn’t a given.
Today’s Inside Sales Leadership Tips:
- ensure your team has the right skills and tools to have fantastic conversations.
- tune up those skills just like cars are tuned up before they go out on the track – if it’s practice, qualifying, or the race.
- the team has to understand their limitations as well
- when do they need to pull into the pits? (in sales perhaps this is an IM for advice while on a call)
- is it time for the relief driver to take over? (and get other people involved in the deal)
- how much punishment can the engine/car take? (what level of disappointment can they sustain)
- it’s not about how fast someone else can get around that corner… how fast can they? (are they prepared for objections)
- make sure you are building endurance into your salespeople.
It doesn’t matter if you’re in a racecar or sales – if your salespeople don’t cross the finish line, there is no way you can finish first.