BNI SuccessNet - Third Quarter 2002

The 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics experience, which I shared with my father, was incredible. As a former amateur athlete myself and a successful business executive, I could really appreciate all the training, preparation and commitment it takes to be successful. From the hundreds of thousands of people attending the events, to the snow capped mountains surrounding Park City, Utah and with the colors of all the countries flags and the festival atmosphere of the Olympics; I really walked away with the feeling of what it takes to be an Olympic athlete - "the best of the best."

Imagine if you will - working on one goal, one dream, everyday for four years and having it come down to an event that in most cases only lasts for a few precious seconds. All that blood, sweat and tears to see if you get the gold medal ... and either the glory is yours or you go home without the prize. Incredible isn't it? In my view these athletes, whether they win or lose, are all Olympian champions for just having the opportunity to represent their country and show off their stuff in these Olympics.

While enjoying the events we saw at the Olympics, it was apparent that each of these participants possessed the same key qualities: intense discipline, focus, world-class training, the will/determination to succeed and a passion about their future. And these qualities are certainly the qualities that we need as business leaders within the sales/service industry. The only major difference is that Olympic athletes have coaches around them everyday, helping them keep these critical qualities in front of their mind as they aim for a gold medal. When coaching my sales teams/clients over the years I have always told them they were like athletes. The only difference is that as sales/service leaders, they wear a different uniform and play on a different field than an Olympic athlete. But like the athlete, my clients incorporate the same use of discipline, focus, world-class training, the will to succeed and the ability to have fun. Mastering their business, practicing their "art", growing and executing will deliver the desired results and peak performance.

Let's look at the qualities of an Olympic athlete and see how you can incorporate these world-class qualities:

1. Discipline: Because you are a leader within the sales/service industry, discipline is such a key "attribute" for you to possess to be successful in the business world today. You need discipline in your work habits, in performing your genius work, discipline in your vision of what you want and clarity on where you want to be.

2. Focus: What are your goals? What are your company's goals? Are they compatible with each other? Are they attainable? Define your mission statement and the steps to help you achieve your sales/service company's success. Remember: a goal/mission is a dream with a deadline in writing.

3. Proper Training: The Olympic athletes train for a minimum of four years to achieve their ultimate goal. They train, train and then train some more. Can you apply this mind-set to your sales/service company and its training programs? The Olympic athletes go over the same training techniques, again and again and again - it's called learning "the basics" and develops their mental muscle. I'm sure you've heard "we need to get back to the basics" before, and this is the reason why. Train your mind and it will perform at a world-class level, day in and day out without having to be prodded to perform. Are those on your advertising sales team trained to perform like this? What are you doing to train and grow that "mental muscle" of your superstars? As I always say "when you're green you grow and when you're ripe you're rotten."

Let's face it, we spend more time at work than we do at home so make sure either you love what you do (be passionate) or make your work environment a fun place to be. Half full is all about attitude and altitude!

TPPTip: Being an Olympic athlete is not much different than being an "Olympic" business athlete. Just adapt these four principles to your business acumen and watch your success and sales/service company grow!.

About the author: Andrew L. Botieri is the founder of Total Peak PerformanceTM, a business coaching and sales training company. Andrew has over 47,000 hours of coaching and training sales/customer service companies around the country. Andrew is the former Vice President of Sales & Operations for SpringStreet.com, a division of Homestore.com, a publicly traded Internet company and was the former "Turnaround Specialist" and National Sales Trainer for HPC Publications, a division of Primedia. Andrew conducts sales/leadership/motivational seminars for sales/service companies and is a nationally published author. For additional information on this topic or other coaching and training topics on sales and customer service, Andrew can be reached at 508-747-9883, by E-mail andrew@totalpeakperformance.com or visit our website at www.totalpeakperformance.com.