What Greg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs Can Teach Us About Sales

Photo courtesy EPA / Larry W Smith

Last night we saw the culmination of one of the most impressive performances in recent professional sports; the San Antonio Spurs easily defeated the Miami Heat to win the NBA Championship. The Spurs turned in the most dominant back-to-back away games in NBA playoff history last week in Miami then came home to easily beat the Heat by 17 last night to clinch the title in just 5 games.

But I’m not a sports reporter and I doubt you’re reading this for my insight on playing man-to-man or zone! No, what strikes me about the success the Spurs have experienced the past 15 or years is the business-like approach that their head coach Gregg Popovich takes, particular in empowering his players to be their best. I think we could all apply some of the principles he’s developed to our own leadership approach.

Last week I posted asking what kind of salesperson are you? One of the things I discussed was understanding that different people have different styles, strengths and weaknesses and it’s the good manager who is able to bring those all together to achieve success, as a team. That’s what Coach Popovich does. In an interview last month with the San Antonio Express News (that was syndicated by outlets around the world) he was asked what he does to inspire players in the huddle during a timeout. His answer was both surprising and awesome:

"Sometimes in timeouts I'll say, 'I've got nothing for you. What do you want me to do? We just turned it over six times. Everybody's holding the ball. What else do you want me to do here? Figure it out. And I'll get up and walk away. Because it's true. There's nothing else I can do for them. I can give them some bulls---, and act like I'm a coach or something, but it's on them."

How many times have we all wanted to do just that? At some point we can instruct and teach and provide materials, but at the end of the day it’s on the salesperson to “score.” But it’s more than that. What Popovich said next really impressed me. It was about communication, something our company is constantly trying to improve as I’m sure yours and many others are too.

“You guys got to get together and talk. You guys might see a mismatch that I don’t see. You guys need to communicate constantly — talk, talk, talk to each other about what’s going on on the court.

That’s exactly what our salesforce should be doing. A successful sales organization is in constant communication, alerting each other to opportunities in the field, changes that are taking place and where their competitors may be weak so they can take advantage of extemporaneous conditions, which can be fleeting.

Popovich goes on to say “I think that communication thing really helps them. It engenders a feeling that they can actually be in charge. I think competitive character people don’t want to be manipulated constantly to do what one individual wants them to do. It’s a great feeling when players get together and do things as a group. Whatever can be done to empower those people that’s what I do.”

I think that is a great philosophy both on the court and in the business arena. Communication and empowerment. It’s helped Coach Popovich deliver five NBA titles to San Antonio, imagine what it can do for your organization. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Photo Courtesy Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images