Sporting analogies are often used in business. They particularly resonate in sales. Some are very applicable, others crass. “Knock it out of the park” as some managers are occasionally wont to utter, leaves me colder than a December day. But that’s just me, takes all sorts I suppose.
A year ago, today though, a feat quite remarkable happened in sport, cricket to be precise. It was a balmy summers day (unlike today where we are in the full grip of an autumnal storm) and of course crowds were permitted and able to watch in close proximity to each other, struck as they were, by the awe of the feat that eventually unfolded.
For the uninitiated, it seems bizarre that a game lasting 5 days can rest on the deeds of the final hour. A little like those Quarter ends when everything rests on the last day. There were twists and turns in this game (England v Australia) akin to some Quarters I have experienced as a Sales Leader.
England were skittled for a dismal 67 runs all out on the second day, which meant a record breaking 359 runs were required to win the game. I have had Q4s where we have posted revenue values the equivalent of “67 runs” leading up to the final week of trading. No matter, we were still following our “commit” and we had a plan. Similarly, England entered that final day needing 203 more runs to win and still had 7 wickets in hand.
Breezing into the office as a Sales Leader on the last day of Q4 should give you the same excitement as Christmas Eve did as a small child. Even if the “ask” is $12.6m and 10 deals as it was at one of the most challenging Quarter Ends I had. Exuding positivity and… having that plan is essential. Rather like England did at Headingley last year, we got in a (metaphoric) huddle, mapped out what we needed to do to close the opportunities we had on the board. Of course, we also forged a contingency/back up plan which was being executed in the background just in case.
A couple of early deals landed before lunchtime. One of them significant. The paperwork checked. The bell was rung (old school but it still works, trust me). At Headingley, the plan was also being executed. Slowly, slowly at first. Keep wickets in hand and settle in. The roar for the first scoring run after 25 minutes was loud and guttural. Runs were then increasingly accumulated. Chances for the opposition were none existent such was the quality of England’s execution. By lunchtime they required “just” another 121 runs to win the game and still had 6 wickets remaining with Ben Stokes (who had single handedly won the world cup a few weeks earlier) still at the crease.
Our quarter end continued as we planned that morning. One by one faces appeared to tell me their deals had closed and been booked. Inevitably, a couple slipped as signatories had been unable to get the approval they needed to complete, swopping places with “upside” deals, albeit in some cases with lower values. Two left to go to meet our “commit”, one significant at around $4.5m in value with a large US Bank and a complex approval route (both internally and externally) to navigate. Approvals in large US Corporations are always fun. I remember waiting until 0200 one quarter for our obstructive approver to go to bed before contacting the US directly and get what I needed to secure the deal. But that as they say is a different story!
At Headingley, wickets tumbled with depressingly regularity until with 73 runs required, Ben Stokes was joined at the crease by the unlikeliest of English heroes, the bespectacled Jack Leach. The last man standing. Then came the most remarkable of hours ever seen in Test Cricket. Against the best bowling attack in the world, Stokes worked the ball around the ground. 6,4,4,6. Scoop shots behind him into the crowd; straight drives past the bowler and an outrageous reverse sweep into the Western Terrace. Jack Leach (think of a modern-day Eddie the Eagle) dodged and weaved as Australia’s finest peppered him with bouncers at a consistent 90 miles per hour. Runs were accumulated until just 8 more were needed for victory.
Australia absurdly reviewed an umpire’s decision for LBW which they regretted immeasurably a few balls later, when hero of the hour, Stokes was “plumb” and nothing could be done to change the immovable umpire’s decision as all reviews had been used.
The implacable Nathan Lyon missed a rudimentary run out and Ben Stokes despatched yet another boundary into the Western Terrace and England’s most unlikely victory was complete. (cricinfo had estimated their win probability at just 8% a mere 60 minutes earlier).
What can we learn from England’s victory that we can take into Sales?
Firstly, England’s victory may be attributed to the fact that they had a goal, broken down into sub goals. Achievable, less daunting targets if you will. Get the win requirement below 200. Then below 100, then 50, 20 and finally into single figures. Of course, it helps when you have one of the world’s greatest batsmen at the crease, but others, with far less talent, notably Jack Leach, stuck to the plan. England eschewed runs (or low hanging fruit) because they looked at the bigger picture when they needed to. They punished bowling mistakes and took calculated risks of ball placement to hit crucial boundaries.
Above all though, England remained calm and focused even when with 72 runs required and facing the world’s best bowling attack, all seemed lost. Curiously, to those of us fortunate to be in the stadium, that positivity and belief was palpable. Even watching the TV of the recording as I did earlier, you just don’t have that same belief!
It genuinely is the same in sales. Positive, supportive leadership, coupled with a focused plan, especially at Quarter End is fundamental. Break down the target in the last month/week/day into its component parts. Eventually on that last day, each deal gets broken down into a set of actions to achieve objectives culminating in the successful closing and booking of a deal. (remember a deal is never “closed” or “in” until its booked and it’s been validated by the commercial team!). Support the team. Exude belief. Adapt the plan with critical timing. Get involved. Lead the discussions both internally and with the customers themselves.
Similarly, though, Australia lost the game. Leadership was not in abundance. When things changed in the game, there was no evidence of a plan. Field placings became random and arbitrary. As England’s run chase started to gather pace and look credible, they wilted under the pressure. Poor decisions were made as the pressure increased and cool heads were not in abundance. Finally, and perhaps most critically, belief of victory was sapped to the point of almost none existence.
I’ve seen Quarter End unravel for some. Fortunately, rarely mine. A Sales Leader’s pressure shared with the team is no great thing and leads to poor decision making. When the plan is abandoned or as we saw from Australia, cannot be adapted to the situation unfolding, you are very unlikely to succeed. A plan is key; ability to adapt it is fundamental. Focus is a prerequisite. Belief though, is everything. An hour can change everything irrevocably as we saw.
My final deal, worth $4.6m came in that Quarter, with only 30 minutes to go before Midnight. I wouldn’t say it was never in doubt, there were times when privately, I conceded we had too much to do. Discussing rationally, calmly and agreeing a continuing revolving plan as a small team got us to where we needed to be in the end.
In the words of Ricky Ponting, former Captain of Australia:
“His Team were gone; they were down and out. It looked like it had slipped away….”
