I am spending the first part of this week inside Dallas Cowboys stadium. I wasn’t inside the locker room or getting the tour they offer for this off the charts, over the top venue. Nope. I spent Monday (and today) right where I really like to be – inside the sales organization. Make no mistake this is a championship caliber team. Some people might assume “if you build it, they will come.” Indeed, they will, but not without a world class sales organization. Not without talent, process, discipline, rigor, activity, benchmarking, cycle analysis, question mapping, simulation strategy, competition, incentives, pride and a very public record of results.
This is a company for closers. When you approach the sales bullpen you can not help but notice a large rock with a stonecutters tool, on a platform, and a placard that reads: “When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” A good reminder that most sales don’t get closed without hard effort. The cycle to success can be a long, arduous process. The best sellers will keep pounding the rock to elevate value and evolve the relationship. Great sales leaders also know that activity and effort alone are never enough. They should never be confused with what really counts in a quality sales organization – results. Inside Cowboys Stadium they measure both in real time. Publicly. The Hustle Board: Is where they track daily rep activity – calls booked and completed along with event invites. They have the funnel managed.
The Scoreboard: Is where they track results. They know everyone’s call/close ratio. So does everyone. You can follow the leader board all week long. Competitive? Absolutely. For everyone? Not so much. These are business athletes and they compete to win just like the players who line up on Sunday. And they succeed. Over $500 million in PSL revenue and more than 300 suite lease agreements. Those numbers look real good on any scoreboard. The other big victory going on here is the career launching. Sign up and dominate the leader board for a good stretch and you are all but assured an opportunity to advance your career in this industry. You’ll be developed and invested in with the opportunity to learn best of industry sales process and techniques that will impact your entire career.
If you produce, the organization will work with you to secure the next level opportunity. They develop talent up and out if the next level opportunity doesn’t exist right here. No holding people back for short-term interests. They have a robust, senior level alumni network to prove it and I can tell you that provides an enormous lift to engagement. That is simply excellent talent management and has become part of the DNA of this unique sales culture. Fun to watch!
