What Do Winners Do?

Joe Maddon, Manager, Chicago Cubs

In a recent interview with Joe Maddon, Manager of the 2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs, and Theo Epstein, President of the Cubs, they pointed to a couple of things that they did differently and that contributed to their success.  Most notable, and the thing that really jumped out at me, was that they scouted out their opponents before every game.
Normally, baseball scouts are out looking for new talent.  Not Cubs' scouts.  Cubs' scouts were analyzing the next opponent's hitters: what do they swing at?  where is their sweet spot--where do we not pitch?  Their strategy was to secure a team of strong hitters and scout the opponents' hitting weaknesses so that their pitchers started with an advantage.
Bill Belichick, head coach for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, had a similar strategy.  He had a room full of assistants looking at every single play of an opponent's previous games, analyzing minute changes in everything, from the angle of the quarterback's head, to the slight movement of the right guard--all to find out the opponent's weaknesses.
I have said over and over again in my blog that product knowledge is a critical component of sales success.  And that is true.  But just as critical is knowledge of your opponent--understand your competitors and their weaknesses and strategies.
What motivates a customer to make a decision in favor of your product can be very subtle.  Bill Belichick and Joe Maddon understand that fact.  Everyone who wants to be successful in sales must also understand that fact.
Take the time to know who you are competing against; take the time to understand your competitors' product--because taking that time could mean the difference between success and failure, between winning and losing.