Many of us know people in our lives—whether at work, in our family, or among our circle of friends—who take their athletic pursuits pretty seriously. Whether they're amateur runners, swimmers, lifters, tennis players, or triathletes, they approach their workouts, their competitions, even their fun in a very methodical, purposeful, almost scientific way. They know it's the only way to grow and improve.
Surprisingly, many of these same people treat their chosen profession with a much less serious or methodical approach. They have much to learn—from themselves! In the brief slide show below, we share just five attributes successful salespeople have in common with successful athletes.
Who should you be sharing this with?
Sales is about selling someone a solution. You make the sale when you identify needs your client is motivated to solve, and rally your company to apply their resources and capabilites to solve that problem. As eager salespeople, we may try to solve the first problems we identify. But let's look at why that may often be the 
I have immense respect for nurses, miracle workers who can ease the pain and brighten the day for the patients on their floor. I don't have that kind of magic in me. Not everyone is cut out to be a good nurse. Not everyone has the temperament to be a good cop. Not everyone has the detail orientation to be a good database analyst. The same is true for B2B sales. Not everyone has what it takes to become highly successful in a 
If you’re a sales manager, you need to know where your salespeople are with their accounts. If you’re a salesperson, you need to know even more. Taking a critical look at where you really are in the sales funnel process with your accounts is time well spent.
We've spent a fair amount of time recently on this blog talking about your best accounts... the ones you should be spending the most time with. One way to do so, we've suggested, is to 
Is it okay if I use the word "crappy" here? Good.