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Guest post by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith Become an Author

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Yes, winning in sales and in sports obviously have a lot in common. However, a recent statistic may provide even greater insight in that you may need to start thinking like a NFL team.

The other day while radio surfing in between driving to some sales coaching appointments I heard a sports announcer cite a National Football League statistic. This statistic indicated that those teams who scored first and obviously early in the game won 75% of all games. (I attempted to verify this through Google, but was not successful.)

Just imagine, for a moment, if your sales conversion rate was 75%. What would that do for your piggy bank?

What this says for sales professionals is that your sales actions must win points early in the game if you truly want to earn the sale. This statistic makes sense given some of the sales statistics within the marketplace suggest one half of leads are never followed up to most earned sales happen between the 5th and 12th contact. (Source: National Sales Executives Association)

So what would happen if you thought of your sales process as a game in which you have only 7 plays? Then upon successful execution of each play, you award yourself a score.

Your first play is attracting the attention of that qualified potential customers (a.k.a. prospect). Sales Coaching Tip: Replace prospect with the phrase qualified potential customer. Now you begin to think of that individual as a real person and not just a means to an end to realize your goal to increase sales.

Give yourself one point for that early effort. Next, you must build the relationship. When this is play is completed, awarded yourself 2 points.

Your next action is fact finding by discovering those known and unknown needs or issues. Upon successful execution of this play, you earn 3 points.

Now is the time for presenting the case play. You must demonstrate the value of your solutions to your potential qualified customer. Execute this play well and add another 4 points to your total score.

Your fifth play is gaining commitment. If you have executed all previous plays flawlessly, then this play is completed fairly quickly. Whether the outcome is a hand shake, a signed contract or a verbal commitment to proceed forward, give yourself 5 points.

The sale is earned, but now you must deliver. Since the buyer has placed her or his faith in you, you are the sales professional are responsible for the successful delivery of the sale. Done well, give yourself another 6 points.

Finally, the seventh play is at hand. You must follow-up and ask for 3 referrals. This play is not well executed by many sales professionals. However, by adopting this marketing activity since the sale is completed, you can begin a new with those 3 referrals and give yourself 7 points in the process.

Yes, sales and thinking like a NFL team have a lot in common. Your challenge is to score first, score often and to deliver a quality engagement if you truly wish to increase sales.

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