In this episode of Tech Sales Insights, Randy Seidl is joined by Scott Wood, VP and GM of Compute for North America at HPE. Scott shares unique go-to-market strategies inspired by his experiences as a football official. From structured pregame preparations to rigorous post-game reviews, Scott draws fascinating parallels between sports officiating and high-performance sales teams.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Structured Preparation: Learn the importance of detailed pre-meeting preparations, akin to pregame routines in football officiating.
• Post-Game Review: Understand the value of reviewing sales calls using technology to identify areas for improvement, similar to how officials review game footage.
• Ongoing Certification and Practice: Emphasize the need for continuous learning and practice in sales, paralleling the rigorous certification processes in sports officiating.
• Effective Communication: Explore strategies for maintaining clear and effective communication within sales teams and how it relates to the teamwork required among football officials.
• Handling High-Pressure Situations: Gain insights into managing high-pressure scenarios with clients, drawing from Scott's experience handling intense moments with football coaches.

QUOTES

• "If they do that at a high school level for football, why are we not doing the same disciplined preparations for multi-million dollar deals?"
• "You need a culture of practice, not just one-off training sessions. Practice builds confidence, and confidence attracts customers."
• "The technology we have now for reviewing sales calls is a game-changer. If you're not rigorously using them, you're missing opportunities to have a world-class sales team."

Find out more about Scott Wood through the links below:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-wood-9828986/

This episode is sponsored by AuctusIQ, the Sales Performance Assessment sponsor of the Sales Community. AuctusIQ is a sales data and science software company, with the mission of providing the right data to solve your three biggest challenges: selecting and retaining exceptional talent, coaching to ensure readiness to meet or beat quota, and winning more deals.