Transitioning from Sports to the Corporate Athlete

Kerri Pottharst Rips One

 

If you’ve ever changed careers or moved into a new position within your existing field, you know that the transition can be a challenging one. Research shows that skilled workers will change jobs nine times during the course of their careers, which has the potential to create a tremendous amount of both personal and professional disruption.

Athletes are no different, and my good friend Kerri Pottharst, a decorated Olympic medalist in Beach Volleyball (Gold, Sydney 2000, Bronze, Atlanta 1996) helps them transition from careers in sports to business. Kerri’s own transition from hours of training as an elite athlete to a successful businesswoman follows a proven blueprint that she teaches others to build and execute.

The following is from Kerri’s writings on “Corporate Athlete Training”, a program that she delivers within the context of other nutritional, fitness and wellness services. For more information, go to www.kerripottharst.com

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Today’s challenging business and social climate requires you to be perfectly fit – mentally, physically and emotionally.  Regular movement, consistent and adequate sleep, great nutritional habits and a winning mindset all add up to peak performance.

Corporate athletes are under more pressure and face more serious consequences if they fail. They have more demands on their time and there is no real “off-season”. The work-life balance is always precariously held by conflicting loyalties to family, business and self. And it is no longer about time management. It’s about ENERGY management. To succeed, excel and optimize your energy creation and usage, there are four areas we help you to plan and develop:

Mindset

You are what you think. And if you have a clear plan of what it is you want to accomplish, this is half of the journey. Sure, hard work and resilience may turn you into a good performer, but if you are looking for peak performance, you must think like a champion AND make a plan of how to get there. As Brian Tracy says, there are no “accidental” over-achievers.  Sorting through the normal periods of doubt and limiting beliefs will come and go, but the mental aspect of success must be planned and practiced.

Nutrition and Hydration

The health consequences of not eating well are well documented in all mediums of traditional and social media. And while it has become easier to “eat right”, there is still a tendency to grab the wrong foods when in a time crunch. One simple thing to do is plan for strategic snacking while at work, by bringing a few simple items with you from home that steer you away from the sugar-laden vending machine. Bananas, raw nuts and homemade granola are a few examples.

And where coffee, alcohol and energy drinks may seem to be the right fit for a moment, over the long run too much of any of these liquids will do more harm than good. Water is the key fluid you have got to take in, and if you weigh 150 pounds you should be drinking 100 ounces of water per day. The amount will flux in relation to your weight and exercise level.

Movement

YOUR CHAIR IS KILLING YOU! If you didn’t already know this, sitting in front of your computer for hours at a time does long term damage to many different parts of your body.

Many companies now offer “exercise at work” options to include on-site gyms, classes ranging from yoga to Pilates and more. Taking the time to step out for an hour and attend one of these sessions puts a whole new perspective on the day. And there is more and more empirical evidence around High Intensity Circuit Training, or HICT. This is a “less time, more effort” way to get an impactful workout, one that will ultimately restore your energy and increase your productivity.

Recovery

You all know a workaholic, or maybe you are one yourself. We all need a break from the rigors of work. Take a TIMEOUT! For some, a formal sabbatical from career is required when things get way out of balance. But before you get too burnt out, make sure you take regular breaks, daily breaks to “sharpen the saw”. One simple way to refresh that often gets overlooked is to get the proper amount of sleep. Seven to eight hours per night is suggested for most people.

Other ways to keep mentally refreshed include meditation, or just mindfulness of being in the present and concentrating on your breathing, There are piles of scientific evidence that show the benefits of slowing the mind down for even 10 minutes per day, and how this helps to reset your mind and body. Basic stretching routines can also help you to maintain flexibility, especially as middle age approaches.

The blueprint is above for how to make a successful transition, or stay on the path if you are already minding the important factors to creating and managing your energy, and being a well-rounded corporate athlete.

 

 

 

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Seven Steps To Greater Sales Forecast Accuracy

matt_heinz

 

Matt Heinz has been a trusted advisor to FSS since we met him at a Selling Power conference in May of 2013. In addition to the insight he shares with us on regular quarterly updates, Matt has also contributed the following article for our blog. If you want to know what is happening in the world of Marketing, and its critical connection to successful selling, schedule a 15 minute call with him. Thanks, Matt!

 

A lack of discipline around sales forecasting can kill your sales organization’s credibility. And as a sales manager or executive, it can also damage the trust you’ve built with your executive team and board.

Of course, sales forecasts are never going to be perfect. But these seven steps can make a material impact on how consistently and accurately your forecasts predict actual sales results.

Consistent definitions
Does everyone across the sales floor have the same definition for a qualified opportunity? What does it mean for an opportunity to be in the “negotiation” stage, for example? Is procurement actively engaged? Do they have an agreed-upon close date in mind? Ensuring these and other stage definitions are detailed and consistent will save you a ton of time, plus ensure that forecasted-to-close deals actually are on track.

Faster CRM updates
Many sales reps fail to update their opportunities simply because they don’t have time, or updating records takes way too long. Make it easier and faster for reps to update CRM – from the road, their mobile devices, and even at their desks. Minimize the information required, or use tools such as FactorLab to ask for, collect and leverage the right information that has the most meaning and correlation to qualified opportunities and pending closed deals.

Use better qualifying questions
Are reps asking the right questions, the sometimes hard questions, to ensure deals are on track? Or are they assuming deals are pending because of misinterpreted signals? Chatty prospects aren’t necessarily qualified prospects. And just because the prospect loves what you’re selling doesn’t mean they have budget and/or authority to move forward. Ask the right questions (and consider adding custom fields to your CRM to record them) so that pending deals are in fact pending.

Tie opportunities to a “compelling event”
Budget may exist. You may be talking to a decision maker. They love what you can do. But if what you’re selling doesn’t correlate to a “compelling event” – something happening in the organization that makes your solution (and the outcome it represents) a top priority, then it’s way too easy for your sale to slip through the cracks or fall down the priority list at the last minute. Sales tied to a top-priority – something that has visibility broadly and publicly – are far more likely to stay on track and close when expected.

Map the entire buyer ecosystem
All too often, a deal feels on track until a “surprise” influencer pops up at the last minute to squash or delay the sale. In most B2B sales opportunities, the buyer ecosystem involves at least a handful of people – decision-makers, influencers, endorsers, users, gatekeepers, etc. The better you understand the entire playing field, and have a story for each individual, the more likely your deal stays on track.

Map the entire purchase/procurement process
For complex purchase and large companies in particular, it’s extremely important to know exactly how the procurement process works. Who is involved, what are the stages, how long does it take. If you assume the deal is a go, and expect procurement to be a breeze, you’re kidding yourself. Some procurement processes take weeks or months to complete. Managers, consider requiring a complete map or understanding of the procurement process at an earlier stage of the sales opportunity development so there aren’t any surprises late in the game.

Reward reps for forecast accuracy history
This can be tricky, as you don’t want to discourage reps from “committing” to closed deals for the month or quarter. But if you follow the steps above, reps should have an easier time hitting their forecasts. And that’s definitely behavior you want to reinforce, reward and continue.

Curious to hear what’s worked for you as well to increase sales forecast consistency.

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On The Road Again from London and Munich

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After spending 10 days in England working with a customer on their global sales process implementation , John is now in Munich doing the same with the European operation. Click on the link below to learn more about this extended engagement in Europe, as well as the upcoming items in the  May newsletter. The newsletter includes contributions from friends/colleagues of Flannery Sales Systems on how to improve personal and organizational performance. And, if you are in Munich over the weekend, reach out to John for a coffee (john@drive-revenue.com).

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