Are Sales People Good Enough?

NFL Football players, most at least, sweat to get better all the
time. Season long lift weightlifting keep muscles strong, and constant
film study make opponents moves clearer. All told, players must stay
ahead of the hundreds of guys begging for the job. Practices and games
are filmed from 2 angles during the season; sideline, and endzone.
Meetings, at times, right after practice, and Monday, after games, play
the video. The player can not hide on film. Each play is graded, just
like a final exam, and the players score is tracked. Penalties accrued,
bad assignments, mental mistakes if too frequent, will bust the player
out of the league.

Old Ways are not Good Enough

"hey we been doing it this way for ever." said the sales manager.

I start to look for the door now. I don't fight with this attitude. If I may, I ask one question: " How are your numbers?"

And
then I get well the market or the dang competition or the sun was in my
eyes, or what ever other excuse is handy. Not possible to be bad
practices or lousy tools. Or that customers are asking for a new way to
research and communicate, uhhhh the internet, and the sales manager has
not adapted. 

Win with improvement and improve with sales data
that shapshots what is happening with prospects and customers. Without
this data, operations are blind.