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!
Read More sales performance
Why We Need to Enable — Not Manage — Performance: A Conversation With John Schneider and Michelle Gouldsberry
Few organizations are better authorities on the evolution of performance management than Betterworks, whose annual State of Performance Enablement report dissects what employers are doing...
Stacking Value to Drive Growth
Did you know 87% of sales opportunities have medium to high amounts of customer indecision? And when you add in economic uncertainty, inflation, supply chain...
The Art and Science of Storytelling in Sales
“I understand….let me tell you a story.” They are some of the most powerful words we can convey. The invitation to listen is also my...
How to Conduct Effective Pre-Call Planning
Sales calls are the beginning of a journey, and like any adventure, you need to be prepared. Remote selling has risen 89% since 2013, and...
3 Most Important Elements of Sales Preparation
Most sales are closed before the meeting even starts. Today, on average, when B2B buyers are considering a purchase, they only spend 17% of their...
Best Practices of World-Class Sales Organizations
According to Gartner’s Future of Sales 2025 report, 80% of B2B sales interactions will occur in digital channels by 2025. Organizations that can adapt, and...
How to Become a Successful Sales Person: A Conversation with Philip Kennedy
Few people know more about what it takes to become a successful sales person than Philip Kennedy, vice president of sales at CADY, the senior...
Persuasive Communication: 5 Ways to Improve Your Skills
How much time do you spend every week presenting new ideas? Working on getting buy-in from your boss for a special project? Competing for new...
The Virtual Selling Skills You Need To Grow
The most effective sellers have mastered the art of creating a dynamic, high-impact sales presentation. They know how to present value, offer compelling insight, and...
And join our email community to receive bi-weekly insights with actionable tips and videos, new research, and inspiration and ideas for cultivating growth in business and life.