By now almost everyone knows New England staged one of the greatest comeback victories ever in big game sports. Down by 25 points with just over 23 minutes remaining in regulation time all the Patriots haters were rejoicing. It looked bleak for New England, no doubt about it. What happened after that will be debated as either the biggest comeback to win a Super Bowl or the biggest collapse to lose a Super Bowl. Either way there are important lessons for sales people to pay attention to from those final minutes and overtime.
Lets pretend the Vince Lombardi Trophy is your sales quota and the two teams are competing sales executives for the top of the sales board. The season and playoffs to this point were merely a way to identify the top two and have them drive to the end of the month knowing they need to out sell the other on Super Bowl Sunday
I have seen this situation on sales teams many times, I've been the sales person that is behind the other drastically and fighting the uphill battle. I've been the sales person that jumps out to an early lead and needs to bring it home in a close race at the finish. The key, as the Patriots clearly illustrated, is to never lose focus. never give up and to never stop believing.
Understand the Objective
It seems obvious the objective is to win, but how? When an extra point was missed with just over 17 minutes remaining many New England fans may have felt the universe was conspiring to ensure an Atlanta victory. Down 19 points with just over a quarter of football remaining and having scored only 9 points in almost 3 quarters, the task of catching up seemed impossible. Someone on the New England side did the math - three scores ties the game. That became the objective.
Leverage Strengths
Again, this seems obvious but look at the reality of what happened. New England has possibly the greatest quarterback of all-time in Tom Brady, so when the chips were down they went with their strength. In the fourth quarter alone New England passed 22 times and ran 3 times. They stayed true to their short and middle distance pass plays and did not throw a "Hail Mary" pass in "hopes" of success. In Tom they trust.
Never, Ever Give Up
It would have been easy for the Patriots to fold like a lawn chair when the score was 28-3 for Atlanta, the Patriots did not. They chipped away at the lead and every member of the team on the field contributed. They played every down with the belief that they would prevail.
The same process will help sales people succeed against their monthly, quarterly and annual targets, moving them towards the top of the sales board. You need to understand what the objectives are (quota), you need to leverage your skills and training to build a sales funnel and close the deals that are closeable, focusing on what is immediately possible and not a long shot. Most of all you should never give up until the final whistle blows and the month is over.
New England did just that. They finished strong and played to the final whistle. As a sales executive, will you play to end, drive to the top of the board? Or will you be happy to achieve quota and just coast to the turning of the calendar?
** Disclaimer: I am, and have been for many, many years, a fan of the New England Patriots football team.
