David Masover Process Selling Blog

Why do athletes make great sales people?

I was asked this question at a recent seminar. It is a question that comes up a lot. In many sales organizations, one may see former athletes in sales roles, and wonder if there is a connection. In my experience, there is.

If you have ever considered yourself an athlete, then you know how it feels to show up at practice regardless of the weather, your mood, or any minor aches and pains you might have.

If you have ever considered yourself an athlete, then you know how it feels to work on the same fundamental skills again and again, never getting bored, but rather working towards execution with a Zen-like state of mindfulness and physically coordinated harmony.

In sales, the parallels are clear. Salespeople tend to be most successful when they have a disciplined process to follow. If, like a disciplined athlete, the sales person can show up every day, rain or shine, happy or sad, tired or energized, and just execute, results come.

Athletes and sales people have set backs. Executing with discipline is not the same as winning every time. However, those who show up, practice hard, play harder, learn from their mistakes, hone their skills and execute consistently along a proven yet flexible process do tend to win more than they lose.

Author: David Masover

David Masover has over twenty years of business-to-business sales experience, including more than eight years in sales management, training, and consulting. He has consulted and negotiated in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Masover is co-founder of Branders.com, the world's largest online seller of promotional products, and is currently engaged in private sales consulting in Budapest, Hungary.