Being Clinical in #SportsBiz Sales
There are some strikers in the sports of soccer who are excellent at passing. There are some strikers who hold the ball up well so other offensive players can come up the field. There are others who are outstanding in the air. Some are strong dribblers. Some are fantastic passers. Some have all or most of these characteristics. But you can't be an elite striker without being a clinical finisher. The goal of the position is to score goals.
Same with a #sportsbiz salesperson. A striker will only probably get 3-5 chances to score per match. We will spend most of our day NOT connecting with people. We can't waste chances by not being clinical when we actually do connect with someone.
What does that look like?
Execute cleanly on your opening: Don't ever say, "I'm surprised I caught you!" You called for a reason.
State Your Purpose: It's easier to sell someone a ticket if you tell them you're trying to sell them a ticket up front.
Frequency: Find out how often they would come in a month to find out the best package.
Location: Find out where they would like to sit.
Usage: Find out who they would like to go with. And not just the first person they mention. Who else? How often with THAT person?
Make a Recommendation: Take ALL that information. Not 2/3rds of that information or 1/3 of that information, and make a strong recommendation.
Handle Objections/Create Urgency: Based on their answer to your recommendation, pivot to one of the above.
Create REAL Next Steps: Not 'I'll call you next week.' It's 'I'll call you at 9:27 am on Friday morning.' Or, 'I'll meet you at the stadium on Wednesday night.'
Resource Deployment: If they don't say, 'Yes', but they do say 'Maybe,' it's incumbent on us to prove to them that we want to earn their business. We're an awesome sports team. What resources do we have that can show them we care?
If they give you permission to talk, you need to be clinical. There's nothing in the above that says that you can't be smart, thoughtful, compassionate, empathetic, funny, etc. It does say you have to hit these check marks to be clinical and maximize each discussion.
Be Messi. Be Ronaldo. Be Harry Kane. Don't be Lacazette. You heard me Arsenal fans.