Sales Lessons We Can Learn from the 2024 Olympics

Olympic athletes all have one thing in common: They have continually invested in building their skills and practiced.

They train with unparalleled rigor. They have not just one coach, but many.

They are laser-focused on winning the gold medal.

And after they win it, they start practicing for next year.

Gold medals aren’t just handed to Olympic athletes. Commitment to a daily routine and practice separates them from every other athlete out there.

It's the same for your sales team.

If you want this to be a game-changing year, it’s up to the CRO to make skills-building and practice a requirement, an integral part of your culture, and a major component of your sales strategy.

Olympic athletes come from all over the world to compete in a myriad of events, but they all have one thing in common: They got there because they have continually invested in building their skills and practiced. They train with unparalleled rigor. They have not just one coach, but many. They are laser-focused on winning the gold medal. And after they win it, they start practicing for next year.

What sales lessons can we learn from them?

(Image attribution: Frans van Heerden)

Practice Makes Rainmakers

As Malcolm Gladwell says, “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” In his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, he references a study by K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University, which found that becoming a true expert in one’s field requires 10,000 hours of practice. Yikes!

Gladwell explains, “The thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That’s it. And what’s more, the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.”

Are You Selling Your Sales Team Short on Practice?

Becoming a world-class expert (or athlete) requires 10,000 hours of practice, because it takes the brain that long to assimilate everything it needs to know for mastery. The rest of us (real people) don’t need 10,000 hours of practice to be at the top of our sales game. But we do need practice. And I’m willing to bet that your team needs more practice than you’re currently committing to.

While companies spend tons of money on client events, company celebrations, sales incentives, and work-life balance perks, many skimp on investing in building permanent, repeatable sales skills for their teams. When they do provide sales training, it’s often done in a vacuum—without reinforcement, coaching, accountability linked to KPIs, and practice—which makes that initial effort a waste of time and money.

CROs and other sales leaders often discount the time, energy, and investment (yes, investment) that it takes to implement a successful skills-building program. But without deliberate practice, feedback, and coaching, reps only dabble in new skills. They won’t actually learn important sales lessons or change their behavior.

Prioritize Practice to Get the Gold

It takes more than a few days of practice before someone can fly a plane, play a golf game with a 10 handicap, become a master chef, or win a gold medal at the Olympics. And it takes more than a few hours of training to master new sales skills.

Some sales leaders believe that if their teams receive some skills training, they’ll practice on their own time. However, most sales reps resist practice. They don’t get paid to practice. They get paid to sell.

Top-performing sales reps operate differently. They determine the critical, deal-breaking skills needed for sales success, and they take a deep dive into honing those skills. These super-sales achievers narrow their focus and relentlessly learn and apply the sales lessons they’ve learned by committing to daily practice. Yes, daily practice. And forward-thinking sales leaders ensure they do it, providing the coaching and accountability that’s necessary for success.

I’ll have to wait another two years to write more about sales lessons from the Olympics, but while I’m waiting, Olympic hopefuls all over the world will be training, practicing, and honing their skills.

What will your team be doing?

If you’re a senior sales leader and can’t wait to learn how referrals drive revenue, email joanne@nomorecoldcalling.com and we’ll schedule a call. But first, take my 14 Yes/No question Referral IQ Quiz. I can create a unique URL for your team and share the results. 

(Featured image attribution: Anthony)