Understanding the Sales Force

This article has a set of three distinct analogies comparing baseball to sales so if you don’t want to hear about the baseball side of the analogy, you’ll probably want to exit the article.  If you stay, you’ll be asking yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Analogy #1 – Filling Seats

Let’s start with what a sales team would call a termination.  It doesn’t matter whether it is voluntary or involuntary, when it occurs, the salesperson must be replaced. 

In baseball, whether a player is injured, traded, released, or leaves via free agency, he must be replaced.  There are three options:

If the team chooses to replace him organically, they call up a major league-ready player from their top minor league (AAA) team and voila – he is replaced. 
If they trade for a replacement, they determine who they want and what it will take in both major league and minor league talent to acquire him.  They might negotiate over the specific players and when they agree, a deal gets done and they have their replacement. 
If they elect to sign a free agent, it usually comes down to money and if the player and team can agree to the terms, they have what is usually an expensive replacement.  

Let’s discuss the preparation, work and diligence the organization would have done prior to promoting a minor leaguer to the majors.  They scouted him in high school and/or college.  They oversaw his development in Rookie League ball, then through low and high Single A ball, then Double A, and finally Triple A.  The player has typically been in their system from as little as two years to as much as eight years.  They have extensive first-hand knowledge of the player’s work ethic, defensive capabilities and liabilities, offensive capabilities and liabilities, mental toughness, and have projected how he will perform in the major leagues. It’s not significantly different with players they might trade for, or free agents they might sign, because their scouts have seen those players and their team has played against those players.

Compare having to replace a baseball player to what happens when you must replace a salesperson.  You don’t have anyone to “call up” or promote and there are two options: