Tuesday, January 8, 2013

XC Skiing and Selling Skills - Connected?


As I’ve been out sliding around on my cross-country skis this week, it struck me how many “lessons” actually apply pretty well to improving one’s selling skills.  Here’s a short list – please feel free to add another (by the way, this is a pretty good creativity exercise, too!) –

Concept
  In cross-country skiing…
  In improving your selling…
Gear matters
You have to dress for the weather – too much and you’ll sweat a lot and then get cold, too little and you’ll just get cold.  When the gear’s right, it’s comfortable. 
Your material and approach better match your prospects real needs, or you’ll be out in the cold.
It gets easier
First time down a snowy trail is a lot like walking; second time in your own tracks is easier; after several days, you can glide along well-worn trails going as fast and easily as you want. 
Anything’s slow and awkward the first time – that’s why you practice! So the first time in front of a prospect, you know the way.
Inattention leads to surprises
Couple of times I’ve been distracted by the local deer herd, and as I gave them my attention while still cruising down the trail, I experienced an abrupt change in attitude (from perpendicular to horizontal).
The spills caused by inattention in selling are less physically dramatic or funny, but a lot more expensive. 
Adapt and enjoy
As the landscape changes, sometimes you go puffing up a hill with skis in herringbone position, and sometimes you can double-pole and glide to whoosh down the trail.  Sometimes hard work, sometimes fast, easy, and fun. 
You have to know when to do what, and notice if things start to change – to react to change in ways that work.

 
How else does XC skiing resemble improving your selling skills? 

And what other “stretch metaphors” might shed some insights in future posts – maybe golf, or cycling?