Red Sox and the Sales Force – Winning and Losing is Contagious

The Red Sox began the 2011 baseball season by losing 10 of their first 12 games.  So what?  Before the season began most experts predicted that the 2011 Red Sox could be the best team ever!  Yet despite all of their star power, they just couldn’t seem to win during those first two weeks of April.  Losing is contagious.

And then they turned it around and it only took one team win to do that.  They proceeded to win so many games during May through August that they were the best team in baseball for those 4 months. Winning is contagious.

Then came September.  I think they won something like 5 games this month while dropping around 15.  They are playing badly, performing badly, and losing badly as a team. It has been embarrassingly bad. Losing is contagious.

In sales winning and losing is contagious too.  When salespeople are scheduling a lot of new meetings it raises the bar, creates enthusiasm and nobody – even those for whom prospecting is a challenge – wants to be left out.  When salespeople are closing sales, deals and accounts it creates optimism, enthusiasm and confidence; and nobody – even those for whom closing is a challenge – wants to be left out.  Success sends a sales force wide message:

“We are doing this, it is working, we can see the difference between the winners and the wannabes (won-a-bees), and if you aren’t one of the wannabes very soon you’ll be on the street looking for a new position.”

Of course you can coach, train and develop SOME of the wannabes, but only if they are Committed, Motivated wannabes, that you can hold accountable.

Either way, winning is contagious  and you must do everything in your power to create a winning environment where success is expected and anything less is not acceptable.