This past week I had the opportunity to hear a presentation
by Charlie Houchin, who won a gold medal in the 4x200 meter freestyle relay
with the US team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Charlie achieved the highest level of success anyone can
reach in that sport. The world doesn’t recognize anything higher than Olympic
gold.
So I asked Charlie: what’s the difference between gold and silver?
To be the best at what he did, better than a whole field of outstanding
athletes, what made him unique? Was it effort? Attitude? Talent?
Charlie’s answer surprised me at first: he said it’s
“technique.” He explained that every athlete competing in the Olympics works
hard, spends long hours practicing and had a highly competitive attitude. Those
are table stakes. Without those elements an athlete won’t ever compete in the
Olympics. To win, however, the athletes have to have the ability to execute the
proper technique for the sport as close to perfection as possible.
When I thought more about Charlie’s answer I realized I
should not have been surprised. In the language of sales, he was referring to
“best practices.” The sales team that will win the gold medal is the one that
executes as closely to best practices as possible. The difference is, in sales,
there’s no silver medal! You either win the deal or go home with the other
losers.
I don’t know the proper technique for swimming a leg of the 200-meter
freestyle. But in a competitive engagement I know to focus on best practices
in:
·
Preparation for the engagement
·
Building and managing a high-performing team
·
Establishing a strong, trusted relationship with
the client
·
Achieving success for the client first
Adherence to those best practices in deal-making is the difference
between us getting the gold (winning the deal) and silver (nothing).
