I talk to sales leaders every single day. Some more sophisticated than others. I usually get brought in to discuss their need for new sales system (CRM) or to advise on possible process improvement. More often than not, the conversation starts with far too many clichés. When I hear these statements, company after company, I often draw a parallel to how athletes express their thoughts about the big upcoming game or the performance of their team.

Ever hear the following from a professional athlete?

• Everyone gave their best out there today
• We are just taking it one game at a time
• I am just thankful to God, my family, and the coaching staff
• Everyone just came together, it was a team effort
• We just have to put together 60 minutes of focused effort

Wouldn’t it be great if when asked a question a pro athlete would give a straight and thoughtful answer? The dialogue might sound something like:

Reporter: So, that was a great performance tonight, what are your thoughts?

Athlete: Well, this last week in practice everyone applied extra focus on the game films and researching our competition. We all arrived one hour early for practice and stayed one hour late so we could apply extra focus on game plan the coaching staff put together. Additionally as the leader of this team, I spent a few additional hours, with the coaching staff to ensure that I had 100% clarity on the plan and my specific responsibilities. During the game, the team exercised focus and patience. We executed the plan. I am particularly proud of the fact that even when things were looking bad in the second quarter, the team and coaches stuck to the plan. The focus and preparation was what ultimately resulted in victory on this day.

Sales leaders have a tendency to respond in a similar fashion. I often here the following:

• When asked about best practice: “Our process is unique, we sell differently than anyone else…”
• When asked about close ratio’s: “Sales is just a numbers game we just need to make more calls…”
• When asked about recent sales performance: “The economy in our industry (or in general) is the reason we are not executing”
• When asked about sales process change: “My sales people will not adapt well to new processes, we don’t want to disrupt the business…”
• When asked about qualifying leads: “We don’t need a formal process to qualify leads, our sales people just “know…”"
• When asked about forecasting methodology: “I have a feel for my organizations pipeline, sales people don’t like to forecast…”

Steven Covey a recognized author and teacher is quoted saying: “Don’t argue for other people’s weaknesses. Don’t argue for your own. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from it — immediately.” – Covey, Stephen R.

Running and effective sales organization is in many ways similar to running a professional sports team. Discipline, planning, and execution are the key pillars of any successful team, sports or otherwise. So, why do sales leaders argue for these weaknesses? Why are they resistant to change? In a word. Inertia!

Change introduces the unknown. Humans have a natural resistance to change. If it’s working, why try to fix it?

Change is everywhere. In the software world change, exists every day, every hour, every minute. You must constantly be learning, adapting, changing, evolving. This is also true in other industries such as healthcare, pharmaceutical, consumer products, and many other industries. So why on earth, is it so hard for us to change the way we do things when so many companies must change to stay relevant in the marketplace they operate?

My advice. Embrace change. Never be satisfied. Ever. If you are a sales leader, ask yourself, how often are you strategic? Do you have the ability / authority to make changes to improve? How often do you seek out the advisement of a professional? Who coaches you? If your lead qualification process is good, how can you make it better? If you don’t train your sales people, how can you cost effectively put together a training package to ensure new hires and existing employees have a level of competence to represent your company in the marketplace? Be excellent, never settle for anything other than the very best in the world.