Football’s Pitch Count and its Connection to Sales Management

Herm Edwards, currently of ESPN and formerly the Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, was interviewed on WEEI, Boston’s Sports Talk Radio station today.  He said a couple of things that were quite compelling:

1. When asked about pro football players that get in trouble, like Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Edwards said he believes in the “12 O’Clock Rule – Nothing good can happen after 12 O’Clock so they have to know their pitch count.”  That’s two simple metrics that lead to winning.  Keep track of the time and the number of drinks.  Applied to sales, can you name two metrics, that happen off the field, that can prevent ineffective performance?
2. When asked about tonight’s NFL Draft, he said that 265 players will be drafted, 150 will make the opening day rosters, and about 25 of these rookies will be starters for the 32 Pro Teams.  He said that all boils down to “coach them and mold them”.  How many sales managers take that approach with their new salespeople?  Not enough.  Most train their salespeople for a couple of days, throw them out in the field, set them up for failure, and don’t understand why they don’t perform.