I was listening to a Bay Area sports station (KNBR – 680 –The Sports Leader) the other day and the topic was “winning the prize.”  This was right after the Warriors won the NBA title again. They were discussing how hard it is to repeat, even though the Warriors have won or been in the finals many time the past eight years. They were saying how after the initial elation, there is often a big drop off. Very few teams repeat a world title back-to-back; often suffering a losing or mediocre season the next year. Why?

There was no one answer offered that answered the question… but one that seemed to make a lot of sense was that the players were very focused on the prize the year they won but forgot, let up, over-confident, or too relaxed about the journey the next year. It was the journey that had gotten them the prize; continuing to focus on and perform the fundamentals at the right time. The next year they didn’t continue the same steps that got them the prize.

This happens in sales all the time. Salespeople get very involved in a big project but forget or ignore the steps they need to take every day to continue winning the next big order. It is very common to hear a salesperson say that they don’t have time to network or prospect because they are too busy with a big project. I know large projects can consume a lot of time but it is dangerous to risk future business for one order or even a series of orders…as almost all clients slow down at some point.

It’s important to try to enjoy and perform each step of the journey known as the sales process every day, as these steps will more often than not get you the “prize.”
“We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work, we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we’ve established for ourselves. It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile.”

Earl Nightingale
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

Steve Jobs, Co-founder, CEO, Chairman Apple Inc.