Who are you wrestling with?
Have you ever been to a wrestling match? My son is a freshman wrestler in High School. I have attended several matches over the last few weeks, and came to the realization that wrestling and business have a lot in common.
Most wrestlers go into a match not knowing much about the talent they are wrestling. But after the initial match (especially if they lose), the wrestler becomes more aware and begins paying attention to his next opponent. Similarly, many sales and marketing people do not initially know much about their customer. They resort to “wrestling” to get attention, or wrestling them down to give their sales pitch. If they are like a smart wrestler, they will begin paying more attention to the needs of the customer in order have more success in the business “match.”
When you look at a wrestler who has been focused on training and conditioning, it is very obvious. In the same way, if a client or prospect is getting relevant, timely and purposeful content, they can identify a winner. Unfortunately, most organizations do not have the process and tools in place to exercise ongoing communications.
I have also noticed that once a wrestler wins a match, his attention seems to sway back to his team. The individual wrestler becomes more interested in how well their team is doing, and how their match will impact the team’s score. What can he do to support his team members in victory and defeat? In business our teams are not usually all at “the meet;” they seem hesitant with sharing the background of their wins and losses. Sales and marketing colleagues are in many cases wrestling with each other rather than sharing experiences and learning together. This will limit their opportunities as an organization unfortunately.
After the meet wrestlers want to know their stats: what is their year-to-date average of wins vs. losses, point spread, how many people did they pin, what do they need to improve on? They are eager to get access to the data. Most wrestling teams don’t provide easy access to these statistics. I have noticed that the really strong teams with great coaches, have implemented processes that make it very easy to access the data. They know how to identify, inform, and lead their talent. A sales organization must provide such relevant and accurate data as well to be successful.
If you are going to ask your team to exercise, and work smart in order to become a fit organization, then the appropriate processes and tools need to be available before and after your wrestling matches. Our team at AscendWorks has spent thousands of hours perfecting these processes.
If your organization is in the process of reviewing the wrestling matches that happened in 2009, and defining how you will win in 2010, we would enjoy the opportunity to put our talent to work with your team. I look forward to seeing you at the next “Meet”.
