Golfing and Sales... Every Touch Matters

closing deals focus Jun 19, 2023

TLDR: To make the putt and close the deal... you have to do all the things leading up to it right, or it's not going to be pretty.

Make the putt... you get your bonus for the quarter. Miss it and your job is on the line. Sound familiar... but with your sales target?

This morning I was golfing and thinking about how much the game of golf reminds me of sales.

First off… the mental aspect. Doesn’t matter what is going on, you have to shake it off so you can stay focused on hitting your next shot.

Next up is where is your focus… is it on the water to the right. Or maybe the sand trap on the left. You start focusing on all the obstacles in front of you and the next thing you know you are either swimming or at the beach.

In sales, it’s so easy to get distracted by all the things going on around you. The product isn’t perfect. The last person said no… and start thinking this one will say no too.

Whatever you are focusing on… that’s where you are headed. Get your head right and focused on exactly where you WANT to go… not where you don’t want to go.

The next part is what club you are choosing. If you are the person that uses your Driver off the tee no matter what… you are going to find yourself in trouble. You aren’t (shouldn’t) use your Driver for a Par 3 that is less than 150 yards… you are going to overshoot it.

So when choosing the club… distance, terrain, and weather (wind, rain..etc)… all should play a factor. Even your strengths and weaknesses in the game. Today there was a shot that I had to lay it up because I knew I couldn’t make it over the river. Some can… I can’t, so I play my game.

Just like your opportunities. You can’t run every single one of them the same way. Focus on… what’s important to them. What are their pains and problems? What is the impact of those pains? What are their objections or obstacles in their way?

All of these are factors that make you change up your game based on who you have in front of you and what they need.

In golf… if you only practiced putting, you are going to struggle.

Just like sales… there is soooo much that happens before you close the deal.

AND just like putting… it’s way easier to sink a 1’ putt than it is to do a 20’ putt.

My chip shot to get on the green can be the difference between that 1’ and 20’ putt.

And guess what, my shot before the chip, sets me up for how hard or easy my chip shot.

My drive sets the stage from the beginning for all the shots after.

Do you get it?

In sales… I dive in at the Discovery and really understand who they are and what matters to them. That sets me up for the Demo.

The Demo… I focus on everything I learned in the Discovery and show them how we are going to solve those problems and they are getting excited.

We move to pricing and we are talking VALUE based on what they told me and the impact.

Next thing you know… we are talking about how fast we can get this going because they can’t live without it.

I’m 1’ from the hole to close the deal.

Flipside… the same demo you always give that highlights everything (regardless of what’s important to them). Show them the price tag. Send over the contract with the deal of the century if they sign today.