I wrote a blog post recently highlighting the challenges my New England Patriots faced when accused of deflating balls after breaking the Impeccable Honesty rule a while back with Spygate. With Spygate, they got caught doing something they shouldn’t have and since then they do not get the benefit of the doubt when anything they do gets called into question, regardless of how ridiculous and fabricated it is (which Deflategate has now been proven to be). After dealing with that mess and everything else they finished the season by winning the SuperBowl in spectacular fashion. They are now arguably the greatest team in history (and don’t give me any of that *asterisk crap).

After being at the SuperBowl myself and experiencing some of that greatness it got me thinking about how and why they’ve been so good for so long, especially with so many different players. Why do seemingly great teams and players make it some years and not others or win the SuperBowl but then don’t even get back to the playoffs? The same questions can be asked in Sales. Why do some reps blow their number out of the water one quarter and then miss it for the next two? Why do some reps make Presidents Club once while some make it every year? The answer is highlighted in the book Good to Great. It’s all about having a system and process in place for building greatness.

Bill Belichick and the Patriots have a system that works. They can plug almost anyone into this system that fits a specific role and it continues to produce a successful outcome. They analyze and adjust the system on a regular basis but there is a foundational component to it that doesn’t change. Great Sales professionals have a similar system. They have a process they follow for almost everything they do and are constantly analyzing and tweaking that process to find ways to improve it. They don’t just make things up as they go along. They know what they need to do to be successful and they stay consistent with it.

Here are some examples systems and processes we can implement as Sales professionals to help build consistent greatness:

• Know your sales equation
• Set goals
• Develop a checklist to go through as you prepare for every meeting
• Develop a standard meeting template that you can take notes with
• Schedule 30-60 minutes on your calendar every day to do high quality prospecting regardless of your role
• Read something new every day or week with the goal of improving your overall business intelligence
• Set time at the end of every day to plan out your day and set your goals for tomorrow
• Practice the Rule of 1%