Take me out to
the ball game.
Take me out
to the sale!
Play Ball!
That’s the yell you hear from the umpire just after the national anthem, and just before the first pitch. It’s baseball season!
It seems like just yesterday that the Phillies won the World Series, and now, with a few new players and a confident winning attitude, they’re on the same path. Another season means hopes of a pennant, and dreams of a World Series trophy for your team.
Who is your favorite team? Ever ask yourself why you’re so loyal to them, even though they may not be winners? I wonder if your customers are as loyal to you as you are to your lousy team? I wonder if your customers are your fans? Just a thought.
Fans cheer and even sing for their favorite team.
Known as our national pastime, baseball season starts with incredible promise for all teams equally, and goes from spring, to summer, through fall, until the top teams emerge. Hopefully yours.
My team is the Phillies. Has been since 1957. I’m a loyal, diehard, devoted fan.
So what does that have to do with your sales? PLENTY. If you study the game, the teams, and the players of baseball you’ll find incredible similarities to your sales and your career.
Here are the lessons in baseball you can apply to your sales game and your business game once you understand their importance and their impact:
• The baseball team is made up of individual players who know how to play together. Their individual skills contribute to the team’s success. They cannot win alone. The best team wins.
• Every great ball player was once a beginner. They started at a young age because they loved to play. They were encouraged by their parents and coaches.
• Every pro ballplayer starts in the minor leagues. In baseball, like sales, there are no shortcuts. One step at a time. Before they got to the minors, it’s probable they had already been playing some form of organized ball for 15 years.
• Ballplayers are coachable. Being coached and listening to coaches are key factors in a ballplayer’s success. Most great coaches were once players.
• Ballplayers warm up and practice before every game. They get ready. Even if they’ve been playing for years…
