Sales Lessons From The Dubai Rugby 7’s…..

Whenever I write a ‘Sales Lessons From…’ article, people often initially think ‘what on earth has this got to do with my business?‘, or ‘how can I relate this to my sales role?‘
However, they’re often surprised when they read more of the article how much they actually can get from it, and often change their personal or business approach as a result….

I’ve been to the Dubai 7’s a number of times now, but this year as well as the global recession, Dubai itself has been particularly badly hit. There are various ‘lessons’ that can be learnt from this year’s 7’s tournament that particularly apply to business, and to sales. Have a look below and see what you think….

Sales Lesson Number 1 – Don’t Be Afraid Of ‘Downsizing’

In the past, the Dubai 7’s has attracted around 50,000 people. This year, because of the ‘credit crunch’ and Dubai being hit particularly hard, it was more like 30,000. Now the stadium was therefore only going to be two thirds full at best. Therefore the organisers took action based on this – by putting netting over the top tiers of the stands and cordoning them off – people therefore had to sit in the lower tiers – resulting in it looking busier and creating far more atmosphere than having people dotted about all over the place.

They’d also taken action to ‘downsize’ in other areas. Crucially however, it didn’t affect the atmosphere, the experience, or the enjoyment of the event! This is something that’s critical to try and retain in your business – even if you have to downsize in terms of capability, people or offering.

Many businesses have had to look particularly hard at themselves over the last few months. Looking at operations and how they could become more efficient. Looking at their service offering and how it could be ‘tweaked’ to get a better response from potential purchasers. Looking at their staffing levels and seeing whether people were in the best positions or had the best responsibilities to get the best out of themselves and add the best value to the organisation.

As a result, many organisations have had to ‘downsize’. Others however have been hesitant to take this step, hoping instead that the market will ‘return’ or they just need to ‘ride it out’ for a little longer. However it’s the companies that are able to deliver a good service efficiently that will be among the best-placed to take advantage as the market goes back up. And the ones that aren’t as efficient will be struggling….

Sales Lesson Number 2 – Don’t Give Others A ‘Head Start’

In rugby just as in business, you can’t afford to give your competitors a ‘head start’. After playing solid rugby and looking good as they moved into the semi-finals stage, England came unstuck against Samoa.

The problem wasn’t that England weren’t capable of beating them – they were. The problem was that Samoa had scored 3 tries before England had ‘woken up!’ It’s very difficult in a game lasting 7 minutes each half to come back from 3 tries down early in the game.

England had the skills, the players and the capability to win – yet giving Samoa that kind of head start ultimately cost them the game – and the chance to play New Zealand in the final.

In your business are you giving your competitors a ‘head start’ right now? Do you find yourself saying things like ‘we’re in survival mode at the moment’, ‘no one’s got any budget to buy from us’ or ‘let’s just get through the next few months?’ If so, you could well be giving your competition a ‘head start’ on new prospects, or even your existing customers!

Perhaps you or your team have also not been prospecting for new business as much as you could over the past few months? That’s certainly going to have an effect on your business pipeline for the following few months as well! Where else have you been giving your competitors a ‘head start’ on you recently?

Sales Lesson Number 3 – Pick Your ‘Team’ Carefully

Rugby 7’s is a different type of game to the 15-a-side equivalent. The pace is faster, with more emphasis on ‘explosive’ pace and the ability to keep and run with the ball, with far less emphasis on kicking.

The teams who do well at the 7’s game are the ones that pick their team carefully. Just looking at the players the successful teams pick you can see they’re focussing on being quicker than their opponents, with speed from a standing start a vital attribute. Ball handling skills are also key, as many turnovers happen in 7’s, so keeping hold of the ball is vital! The teams that do well have picked their team based on these factors.

When it comes to your business, how have you picked your team? Have you consciously picked the right blend of people with the right blend of attributes to succeed in the current market? Or are you left with people that are just doing that job because they’ve been there for a number of years?

How about if you were to start your business again tomorrow? What would you differently? Who would you assign into the job roles you’d create? Why would you pick them for the roles over others? What skills do they bring to the table that makes them ideal candidates for those roles? Are they the sort of people you can rely on in a difficult market to lead your company back to where you want it to be?

Sales Lesson No 4 – Make It Easy For People To Buy

Far too many companies make it too difficult for people to buy, especially when it comes to cross-selling or up-selling additional items!

At the Dubai 7’s, they’ve eliminated the problems of people queuing for drinks, then not having the right cash, plus the temporary staff that the organiser has hired pocketing large amounts of the cash takings!

You simply go and buy ‘tokens’ for food and drink at special booths, then getting your drinks and food is much simpler, much quicker and the organisers don’t have to worry about their temporary staff pocketing takings! It’s a simple but efficient way of doing things.

So, how can you apply the same principles in your business? How are you making it easy for people to buy from you (or buy more from you) currently?

Think about the ‘customer experience’ of people buying from you. What are you doing before or after they purchase that makes you stand out from your competitors? What ‘bottlenecks’ in your process are standing in the way of you getting more business from customers?

You can ask any questions about this article or sales in general, by contacting Andy here

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