Being a fan of professional basketball and a regular viewer of televised games, it occurred to me recently that the NBA has some of the most talented broadcasters in all of sports.
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is the most colorful, of course. But game analyst and former New York Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy can be equally entertaining and always insightful. He instructs as he elaborates on the game you’re watching. One point that Van Gundy repeats often is the need for players to concentrate on making their passes “on time and on target.”
That concept occurred to me as I was reviewing the notes from my interviews for this issue’s cover feature on why so much sales training doesn’t stick (page 30). There were a lot of theories and ideas on how to get sales training to translate better to the field — and the bottom line. But a couple concepts were repeated by several of those we spoke with: sales training should be on time and on target.
On time in the sense that it can’t start and end with an information dump over three days at a national sales meeting. There has to be follow-up — lots of it. Several sources mentioned the importance of reinforcing skills and product training by delivering smaller chunks of that information in well-timed miniature quizzes or on-demand video clips.
On target seems to go without saying, but it needs to be said anyway. Too much training doesn’t seem to apply to real-life interactions with prospects or follow the buyer’s journey. I hope you’ll take the time to read the cover package of stories and let us know if we’re on target.
Speaking of pro basketball, in this issue we also speak with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (page 42), an NBA owner who could not be more aptly partnered with his team’s nickname.
It’s appropriate that in the same issue we interview Cuban, we address the theory that high-performing salespeople have innate qualities that almost predetermine their career choice (page 6). Cuban seems to be a born entrepreneur and an innovative businessman who has changed the look and feel of a lot of different industries in which he owns companies.
Turns out Cuban also emphasizes sales training that is tailored to the individual and shares other insights in a regular Q&A that will be presented in each issue by Canon. Let us know if there’s someone you’d like us to interview.
