Get a Head Start in the B2B Marathon

B2B sales people run a marathon, not a 100-meter dash. Our sales cycles are longer and more complex and require mental and physical endurance.

I remember the first time I ran a marathon. My preparation and pre-race strategy gave me a “head start” to better my success of completing the full 42.195 kilometers  (26.2 miles) race. Most non-finishers of marathons drop out because of poor pre-race preparation. What can we learn from marathons to get a “head start” to successfully finish the B2B race for our customer’s business?

Get up Early.
To practice for a marathon, one must get up early to log the miles to condition your body for the long haul. Start your sales day early. There are a couple of super advantages for doing this. Firstly, many key decision makers go to work early. If you learn to telephone prospect before, let’s say 9:00am, the person you want to talk to will more than likely answer his company or cell phone directly. Screens do not come in early. Secondly, you can do your research and clear email early to spend more precious time during office hours interacting with customers, raising your appointment and sales call success rates.

Be Consistent.
Running a marathon requires a consistent training approach to “build up your miles.” Successful sales people are focused on daily rituals of improvement to build up their skill, EQ, networks and knowledge. Many a marathon is filled with foolish runners who did not log enough daily kilometers to only stumble and collapse many kilometers before the finish line. Do you have a consistent daily set of habits for sales success?

Feed Your Head.
Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane once sang, “Feed your Head.” (I realize I am dating myself here!) Great athletes are avid readers with a utilitarian purpose: train smarter to win. Rather than just hit the pavement, I found that researching articles and books about long distance running minimized my injuries, led to better endurance, and kept my motivation up. Sales people must be avid readers of selling skills, motivation and sales strategy for personal development. They must also be focused readers of key market trends, industry developments and their customer’s organization. Read to win key accounts and out pace the competition. Customers love it when you are knowledgeable about them, their company and your solutions. Be a resourceful expert.

Get a Coach, Run with Winners.
The best marathon runners always have a coach and a group of like-minded runners to train with. Run with a winning team. A great sales coach has always guided my best years of sales success. These coaches applied the “Law of Victory” – Great sales coaches always find a way for the team to win. They attracted sales winners whom I could also learn from by practicing what Nike calls “Coopetition.” As sales people, we competed, but we also cooperated and were secure enough to celebrate each other’s sales account “wins.”

Map out the Route, Set Milestones.
A marathon is a long arduous run. It can be demoralizing, frustrating, and beat the “you know what” out of you. Marathoners survey the route, plan a strategy to win (or in my case, finish) and establish key milestones along the route. When I ran the Singapore Marathon, I knew the route, the hills, the un-shaded sections, and key intersections. I established milestones to give me small but incremental key wins along this torturous humid trek. B2B sales people also survey the organizations they prospect to determine the key players, the decision making route, and key milestones that lead to close and sign on the “finish” line for the deal.

Have the Right Gear.
Running the marathon with improper gear is another form of self-flagellation. You see it in every race, people dropping out because of blisters from poor fitting shoes, cherry red heads and shoulders from sunburn, searing raw groins from poor quality shorts and blood stained shirts from bleeding “chests.” Successful sales people anticipate what gear they will need to be successful on sales calls so they can move every sales call forward. I am amazed at how many sales people I meet who have incomplete gear to navigate the customer to good decisions. The minimum gear for my sales people are a charged up laptop with key presentations, a calculator, appropriate brochures and flyers, key research papers, a reputable brand of pen, client list and tasteful clothing that shows respect for the customer.

Head Start means Head to Bed.
It is amazing how well regular good night’s sleep improves your endurance to exercise and race. A poor sleep can lose the race. B2B sales people lead high-energy lives that can be mentally and physically exhausting. Head to bed and get that 8 hours of sleep so you can outrun your competitors’ sales people, by being focused and energized. A rested body and brain makes better decisions in moving key accounts forward. Learn to go to bed early, turn the cell phone on silent, and kiss your kids and spouse good night. Reflect on and be grateful for the successful day you had and then easily snooze off to dreamland.

Exercise Your Body.
We have been drawing analogies between marathon running and B2B selling. What exercise regimen do you have to keep yourself fit? What sport are you involved in to lower your stress and improve your endurance to sell for the long haul? I now road bike. My lovely wife, Joyce, gets me out of bed at 4:30am many mornings to cycle. By 700am, I am energized, have a 45 km win under my belt, can take a “quiet time” to meditate or read, and, eat a healthy breakfast. Hey, by 800am, I am already a winner, ready to take on another great day of what I enjoy best: networking and interacting with B2B customers, running with them, helping them to make decisions in their own daily marathon to be more successful in their job and company.  Besides, regular exercise builds endurance and lowers stress so you can out run your competitors.

Now that you can run well, let’s take a look at the running path to competitive advantage and market leadership. Successful sales organizations concentrate on the integration and balance of these three dimensions: Strategic Focus, Cultural Empowerment and Operational Proficiency, to achieve superior sales performance. Download the full article and find out how.

I wish you a great sales run this week. Condition yourself to run the B2B sales marathon well. Employ these insights, be a daily sales winner by out pacing your competition!