Like a Cornerback

One of the toughest positions to play in football is cornerback.

You have to be fast enough to cover the other team’s speediest wide receivers, strong enough to fight for 50/50 balls against the tallest wide receivers, and tough enough to tackle 230-pound running backs that bounce it outside.

And with all that, even the best will still get beat on occasion by a great route, a great throw, or a terrific deke.

So, the best-of-the-best continually work on their game. They train hard in the off-season to improve their straight-ahead speed, their back-peddling speed, their hand strength, their leg strength, their hip-turns and so on.

They work on technique – foot alignment and weight balance so they don’t get immediately beat off the line of scrimmage and even how to “hold” without being called for it.

And, they work on mental toughness too. They have to continue to believe in themselves, that they will win the next battle with a wide receiver, even after getting beat on the previous play. Everyone on the team depends on them to do that.

Last, but not least, the best really study their opponents on film. They don’t just depend on their physical skills and mental toughness. They study the other teams offense and what receiver routes are run out of what formations. They look for tendencies and “tells” of each starting wide receiver – little non-verbal signs of what they like to do.

It’s that combination of pre-game preparation and year-round training that allows the cornerback to read and react at game-speed.

Is it worth it? For all that effort, top NFL cornerbacks are some of the highest-paid players on the team. The top 3 make over $20M per year and the 10^th highest contract makes $16.5M per year.

Competitive selling is like playing cornerback.

Consistently winning complex sales requires a variety of skills. We have to uncover opportunity clues and ask questions like a top detective. We need to think moves ahead like a chess master. We need to lead our team like a general and then negotiate with our client like a statesman.

Competitive selling is draining. Thinking and strategizing burns a lot of calories so we need to be fit. And we need to be mentally tough to deal with the inevitable obstacles, the fits and starts of a non-linear buying process.

Last, but not least, we need to study our opponent. We have to do our “film” work too if we’re going to reach top levels in competitive selling. That means not just understanding the strengths and weaknesses of their offering, but also how they operate.

Salespeople you compete with have a comfort zone they like to operate within. We want to disrupt that. And, when things don’t go according to plan, many will react in a way that gives you the advantage. They’ll make mistakes. We want to set them up for that. See this article for more detail: https://www.labarberagroupuniversity.com/blog/make-them-uncomfortable

To be a top competitive salesperson, what part do you want to work on? Mastering a specific skill? Physical or mental fitness? Studying your top rival? Or, a little of all. If your goals are made for the year, it’s a great time to start thinking about this.

Until next time...

Bob

P.S. If you’re on LinkedIn, I’ll be posting tips and ideas there more regularly. If it’s not showing up in your feed, you can always see the posts by going to my profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boblabarbera/