Sales Lessons From The Rugby World Cup

By Andy Preston | General Sales Tips

Oct 24

In this article, leading Sales Expert Andy Preston explains the sales lessons we can learn from The Rugby World Cup……and how we can implement them to benefit from increased sales….

 

After 6 weeks, the Rugby World Cup is at an end, and most rugby fans are wondering what on earth they used to do early on Saturday and Sunday mornings, instead of watching the rugby!

So now the teams and their managers have the opportunity to reflect on what went wrong (or right) for them and what lessons they can learn from it for the future. So what can we as salespeople, managers and directors learn from it?

 

Andy’s Sales Lesson No 1 – Decide On Your Best Plan – And Stick To It!

One of the reasons the critics pointed to for England’s early exit at the Quarter Final stage against France was that they didn’t seem to pick a settled team, or at least in key positions. They seemingly couldn’t decide whether to play Jonny Wilkinson or Toby Flood at fly-half for example, and had a number of other constant changes within the team.


So what does this mean for us in a ‘sales’ context? Simply that when deciding on a strategy or ‘plan of attack’ to try and win a customer or account that you need to pick your best strategy and stick with it!

Now don’t get me wrong, there are times when you need to realise things aren’t working and change your approach, but doubting your initial plan is a recipe for failure!

Self-doubt is one of the biggest causes of lost sales, and therefore lost commission for the salesperson! Once even an element of self doubt creeps in – whether it’s about the approach, the people involved, or even the chances of winning the business, you’d be amazed how quickly the deal seems to disappear down the drain!

So in order to avoid this, work out your best plan for winning the business and stick to it!

 

Andy’s Sales Lesson No 2 – Find The ‘Angle’

Often when I’m working with Sales Teams, I talk about ‘finding the angle’ – that helps prospects see the value in what you’re offering, and enables you to win profitable business, at a decent margin.

There is a great example of ‘finding the angle’ from an enterprising individual, based in Napier where the Canadian team were based for their games. You’ve probably heard about 3 members of the Canadian team growing beards for the tournament as they’ve been regularly featured in the press for a couple of months now.

In New Zealand, a particular local individual, Denis O’Reilly, spotted some fake ginger beards for sale at a discount store out of town. Spotting the opportunity, he immediately bought out the entire stock and out them on display right at the front of the village shop in Napier!

As Denis thought, ‘Beardo-Mania’ hit town as soon as the Canadians arrived and the beards sold out very quickly – giving Denis a very nice profit for his great idea.

So my question on this point is ‘Are you as good at finding the angle as Denis?’ Think about it when you next go for a client meeting. If you ‘find the angle’, you’re more likely to win the deal, and more likely to make it more profitable too!

 

Andy’s Sales Lesson No 3 – Be Prepared To ‘Grind Out’ A Result

As the group stages finished, and the so-called ‘2nd tier’ nations went home, the high-scoring group matches were a thing of the past, and the games were much closer from then on.

The victories might not have been as ‘pretty’, but it often came down to the teams abilities to grind out a result, even when the losing team had periods of the match where they were on top – Wales vs France and NZ vs France in the final for example.

There are also times in sales where you need you need to be prepared to grind out a result. Usually doing the activities that you least like doing, but are necessary in order to get the final result you want.

Prospecting would definitely be one of those activities, and cold calling in particular! The salesperson that’s prepared to roll their sleeves up and grind out a result when things aren’t going their way has far more chance of getting their desired result in the end, than the salesperson who gives up too early.

So my question is, when the going gets tough are you prepared to grind out the result? Or are you one of those people that gives up too easily?

 

Andy’s Sales Lesson No 4 – Be Strong In Key Areas

Another big lesson in the Rugby World Cup was to make sure you and your team are strong in key areas. A large number of games were decided by key areas like the scrum, line outs and goal kicking.

The try that won the final for the All Blacks was a set move. Line out with two men jumping (in order to confuse the opposition), quick ball down to the forward who darts through the gap between the two – resulted in the try that helped win the game for New Zealand!

The New Zealand coaching staff admitted afterwards that the play was a ‘set move’ they’d saved all tournament – and it ended up winning it for them.

So, giving this a sales context, think about the key areas for you and your team. What are yours? Maybe they’re things like objection handling? Negotiating? The ability to make appointments? Questioning? Closing?

And when it comes to the crunch and you need to pull out a ‘set play’, can you count on your ability to be successful? Or will you be found wanting?

 

Andy’s Sales Lesson No 5 – When The Call Comes, Be Ready!

Interestingly in sales, you don’t often know when the ‘call’ will come!

Take the example of All Black, Stephen Donald. He wasn’t chosen in the final squad for New Zealand for the World Cup, and there were 3 other players chosen in front of him in his position, including the probably the best Number 10 in the world, Dan Carter.

He therefore went on a fishing trip with his friends, drinking beer and catching whitebait. Yet when all 3 number 10’s ahead of him were injured, he found himself not only in the squad, but coming off the bench in the final to kick the points that won New Zealand the World Cup!

In sales, there are times when you don’t have the best preparation. Times when not everything will have gone your way. Times when things don’t seem fair and everything seems to be against you.

But those are the times you need to step up, and be ready to make the difference in the crucial moments!

So my final question to you is, when the ‘call’ comes, will you and your team be ready to step up and kick the winning goal? Or will you be found wanting?….

Follow the tips above and watch your sales soar! I look forward to hearing how you get on……..

Andy Preston
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Andy Preston

Sales Motivational Speaker and Sales Trainer at Andy Preston
Andy Preston is a top International Sales Motivational Speaker, Sales Influencer and Master Sales Trainer.

Named as one of the World's Top Sales Gurus, Andy creates 'Stand Out Salespeople' worldwide, with his revolutionary 'Stand Out Selling' Sales System. 'Stand Out Selling' helps salespeople stand out from their competition, win more business, and do so at higher prices!

Previously a trained Professional Buyer, then the Top Salesperson in the UK, Andy Preston has now trained more than 160,000 Salespeople, in more than 50 countries, on 6 continents, since 2004!

Andy is best known for his work in 5 specific areas...

1) Prospecting/Cold Calling/Business Development
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3) Becoming The 'Stand Out' Trusted Advisor
4) Standing Out From The Competition
5) Helping Salespeople Close More Deals!

With more testimonials than any other Sales Expert online (320+ on LinkedIn alone), Andy's work is recognised worldwide.

You can contact Andy here for more information, and how he may be able to help you!

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