Creating a Company that Consistently Wins (Sales)

“We got out maneuvered.”

“The customer picked the lowest price offer and it wasn’t us.”

“Our competitors bought the win; they’ll lose money.” 

“The buyer decided to go a different direction.”

“The customer said it was too late in the year to change vendors so they stayed with the incumbent.”

“The client just quit talking to us.”

These are some of the excuses I’ve heard this past quarter from owners and CEO’s of companies who were recently informed of a sales loss.

Related article: 9 Phrases Typically Said By Losers of Large Complex Sales

And then silence. 

No anger.  

No emotion. 

Maybe a shoulder shrug followed by,

“You can’t expect us to win every time.” 

And then it’s onto the next chore of the business day. 

It’s at this point my head explodes.

Who’s being held accountable for the loss? How are you addressing the factors that led to this loss? What is it that you failed to know about the customer or your competitors that resulted in this kick in the gut?  

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PREVENT THIS FROM EVER HAPPENING AGAIN?

I am constantly stunned over the apparent resigned acceptance that losing sales is just part of the business landscape.

Is it possible to win EVERY time or nearly every time?

Yes it is!

I’ve been fortunate enough to see it first hand while being a part of a high win-rate sales team (Boeing). And when it comes to consistent winning we’ve all witnessed (or at least heard about) this when watching Alabama football or the New England Patriots. Ever wonder why it is they are always at the top of the heap. Then there is Amazon, a juggernaut when it comes to high performance. What do all of these examples have in common?  

Let’s explore this.

In 19 seasons under Bill Belichick, the Patriots have won the Super Bowl six times, been runner-up 5 times and missed the postseason only three times.

Under Nick Saban, Alabama Football will either be a contender (9 of the last 10 years) for the national championship or the out-right winner (5 of the last 10 years). And in those rare bad years their fans will have to suffer with being ranked 4th in the nation (ok - this year they were ranked 8th). 

Now contrast that with my favorite college football team, Auburn, who spends the same amount on their football program and recruits talent from the same Southern states. Yet, they fought for the national championship only twice in that same 10-year time frame and won once. Oh, and on a bad year, Auburn will finish the season out of the top 25 rankings.  

During the leadership of Tom Gunn, VP Business Development, Boeing/McDonnell Douglas (Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas) had a military aircraft sales win-rate of over 85%. Contrast this with the 30ish% win-rate prior to his arrival.  

So what is it about Alabama football that seems to elude those who run the Auburn football program? Similarly what distinguishes a consistently winning sales team or company from those who just win occasionally or achieve mediocre performance?

Looking back on my personal experience as a new sales person under Tom Gunn and digging a bit into winning teams/companies like the Patriots, Alabama football, and Amazon I would point to these attributes that distinguished those who stay at the very top from those who reach it occasionally:

Great processes - rigorously exercised and allowed to evolve

Demanding, experienced leadership - who could care less what anyone thinks of them.

Clear expectations and enforced accountability

In his book The Amazon Way, John Rossman described one of the important leadership attributes of of Jeff Bezos, “Good process is absolutely essential. Without defined processes you can't scale, you can't put metrics and instrumentation in place, you can't manage. But avoiding bureaucracy is essential. Bureaucracy is process run amok. Strong processes with measurable outcomes eliminate bureaucracy and expose under performers (accountability).” He later added, “As you work to invent and perfect processes always remember that simplicity is an essential bulwark against the creeping onslaught of bureaucracy.”

In Sally Jenkins (Washington Post) article in the Washington Post about the Patriots dominance, she quotes Phil Simms, “When I go and spend time with them at practice (process), I always walk away going, ‘Well, I know why they win. When I go to another team, I go, ‘Uh, that’s why they are where they are, looking for another coach every third year and never winning a lot of games.’” 

“But some things can be gathered from former Patriots or favored broadcasters who have been inside the operation.” wrote Sally Jenkins. “What emerges is a portrait of a team that simply practices at a more extreme cadence (process) than others and is zealous at even the most minor-seeming tasks. The Patriots personify an old quote from former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula, who once was asked, 'Why don’t you overlook a little mistake (accountability)?' Shula answered, 'What’s a little mistake?' And when there is a mental mistake, there is no happy talk about it from Belichick (enforcement).”

Read more here about what makes the Patriots the dominant NFL team.

And here is what Brandon Hall wrote in Stack about Alabama, “The Crimson Tide's secret? Excellent recruiting classes and elite facilities certainly help, but it's their unrivaled practice intensity (once again process) that really sets them apart. The combination of ridiculously good competition, Saban's high standards (enforced accountability) and the constant expectation of an undefeated season make the practices punishing affairs. Former Alabama running back Trent Richardson once told reporters no team in the country practices harder. While some may believe these practices take a toll on Alabama's players and jeopardize their NFL potential, there's no arguing with the results.” 

Brandon continues, “If the unparalleled competition isn't enough to bring the best out of Alabama players in every single practice, Saban's notorious penchant for perfection (accountability/enforcement) will. 'He wants everything done perfectly,' former safety Minkah Fitzpatrick told the New York Times. 'When you demand perfection, you're not going to get perfect every time, but you're going to get the best out of your players.'" 

Learn here some of the secrets to Alabama’s consistent success.

Tom Gunn, VP of Business Development for Boeing Military Aircraft, regularly conducted, rigorous and unflinching reviews (process) of ongoing sales campaigns called, “Plans and Strategy Reviews.” These were unfiltered master classes, if you will, similar to those done in the music and art industry where, in this case, as Tom eludes to in his book, Gunn Sights, “I (Tom Gunn) would sit behind a line of tables in the front of the room, the hot seat was at the table facing ours, and the entire department, around a hundred people, would sit in the back and absorb wisdom. Participants learned pretty quickly what we wanted to hear and what we did not want to hear. In the first meeting I must have said the same thing a dozen times: “I don't give a f*** what you think I want to know what you know!”

Reference: The difference between a normal class and a music "master class."

It was during one of my sales campaign reviews with Tom that he invited a former commander of the Israel Air Force to sit in and participate. His job was to listen to my presentation then critique and challenge my knowledge of how the jet fighter purchase decision would be made in Israel (a jet fighter competition I was leading for Boeing against incumbent/rival Lockheed). After all, if my understanding of this customer was incorrect our solution would likely be as well. 

I hated these reviews because they took hours to prepare, and the gauntlet of questions you could expect were brutal. And then there was the unmistakable impression that after each one of these ‘reviews’ the leadership team would convene in some private room to issue a thumbs up or thumbs down vote if I should remain the sales campaign leader of this $3B sales pursuit. (I later confirmed this to be true.) This was our equivalent to the tough practices and scrimmages experienced by the players on the Alabama or New England football teams with bruises to our ego more so than our bodies.

As much as I hated it, the preparation and the challenging detailed questions from these reviews helped me improve my standards for what it means “to know” a customer versus “I think.” Remember, you can’t serve a customer with a solution unless you truly know them. 

And it was made very clear to us, that was our job, to be the most knowledgeable person in the company about our customer. We were trained in a sale process/methodology that guided us in what knowledge to accumulate. And the expectation was that we would adhere to that training down to the finest detail or pay a price (in the form of a strong 4-letter-laced verbal admonishment or out-right firing on the spot).

Interestingly, “Do your job.” is a core element of Bill Belichick’s coaching philosophy says Patriots Assistant Coach, Mike Lombardi in an HBO documentary on both Belichick and Saban called, The Art of Coaching. “It is hard to do your job when you don’t know what your job is…. Belichick defined what your job is.” 

Nick Saban, when talking to Belichick in this documentary said, “One of the things I liked most about working for you (referring to when Saban was the defensive coordinator for Belichick) is I knew exactly what to expect. I knew exactly what you expected from me. I worked in other places where that was never ever clearly defined. It is amazing to me how many people work with or for someone and it is assumed they know what you’d like for them to do. Whether it was the players you brought to the team or the people that worked in personnel or whatever, you (Belichick) defined for them and then you let them do their job, whatever it was. ….. But the players could see that if we had all just done exactly what we were supposed to do on this (or any given) play then we’d be alright…...It is something that I tried to take away so we get some of that in our (Alabama) building.” 

“Do your job” is such a simple and easy to grasp maxim. Ironically, if you were to analyze why it is a company would lose a sale, it invariably comes down to an equally simple three-worded phrase, “I didn’t know.” 

“I didn’t know Bob, the head of Ops, was driving this decision I thought it was Betty, the CFO.”  

“I didn’t know functionality was more important than life cycle cost.”

“I didn’t know financing was a critical driving force behind which vendor they would select.”

I didn’t know, I didn’t know, I didn’t know. In other words, I (the sales person responsible for the win/loss) either didn't know what my job was or I didn’t do my job. If it is the first, it is an indictment on you the owner (sales leader). If it is the latter and you indeed equipped them with the process, the training, AND the rigorous practices (master class) then it is time to hold folks accountable. 

“How does Jeff (Bezos) build and maintain the sense of ownership among his team members? One way is by hiring the right people. Another way is by instilling a sense of accountability throughout every stratum of the organization. as co-owners of Amazon every employee must be unflinching in his or her accountability and honesty. The highest level of customer service is impossible to achieve without a high degree of accountability and a willingness to be direct open and honest _ especially when things are not going well.” writes John Rossman. “The resulting culture of learning growth and accountability would be impossible without a high premium on clarity - clarity in setting goals, the communication of those goals throughout the organization, the establishment of metrics, and the use of those metrics in gauging the success or failure of any initiative. Practices like “fudging the numbers,” “guesstimating,” “approximating,” and “bending the rules,” as well as “deadlines that aren't real,” “deadlines and targets that are purely aspirational rather than firm objectives,” all of these are anathema at Amazon.”

It is clear then that consistent high win performance is achieved because experienced leaders set high bars for themselves and all those around them, and the regiment/process they follow is as intense in practice (master class) as it is during the ‘the game’ with almost a maniacal attention to even the smallest detail. In 2017, Belichick told CNBC's, Suzy Welch, that the Patriots had one sign in the team's locker room — a quote from Sun Tzu’s Art of War that read: "Every battle is won before it is fought."

“Saban's not afraid to rip a player in front of the team for a mistake or a perceived lack of effort.” Eddie Jackson, now a safety for the Chicago Bears, remembers almost being reduced to tears by Saban. "One day when I was a freshman in practice and Coach Saban was yelling at me, it almost brought tears to my eyes. I'd never had that feeling before. It was crazy," Jackson told Bleacher Report. "He does it to help you. Like they say, if he doesn't, you should be worried."

Oliver Connolly of The Guardian wrote about Coach Belichick and others of his winning reputation, “They are crazed self-evaluators: great is never good enough.”

“The kiss of death at Amazon.com is being known as “a solid guy” While this might seem like a perfectly acceptable description in another company, Jeff’s (Bezos) perception was different. As far as he was concerned everyone at Amazon was fortunate to be there. People who didn’t excel at their jobs were failing to contribute appropriately, in effect free riding on the rest of us. As leaders, we were expected to work with laggards like these to improve their performance into the A+ category or else find some way to incent these people to leave.” writes John Rossman. “He demanded more than they could possibly deliver and was extremely stingy with praise. At the same time many would later marvel at how much they accomplished. Accountability is not painful but it's the only sure path to achievement.” 

“It’s not a franchise for high-priced egos that need flattery.” writes Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post about Belichick. “If they do, probably the New England Patriots is not the place for them,” Belichick says before pausing. “Look, I think it’s just about being honest. I don’t think you tell somebody they did a good job when they didn’t do a good job. I think if they do a good job, you tell them they did a good job. If they didn’t do a good job, I think you tell them, ‘Here’s what you need to do better.’ I don’t believe in lying to a player.” “Belichick sets the basic template and schedule, but somewhere along the line the Patriots players adopt it as theirs, and pride in execution becomes a partnership that has won at least 10 games every season since 2003.” 

There was an expectation of winning in our sales organization (under Tom Gunn). But we were okay with that. After all, we were given the right training, exercised in the process rigorously, and given all the resources and support to do our job. Those who lost seemed to just fade from the department. Those who won were elevated. Tom Gunn wrote in his book, “At least once a session I would make everyone get up and go over to the windows overlooking the employee parking lot. ‘Do you see those cars? That's what you're working for. You put food on the tables and cars in that parking lot by selling airplanes.’”  

Whether you are a sales leader, CEO of a small business or Fortune 500 company, or a start-up founder, what I hope you gleaned from this article is that consistent winning whether in sales, sports, or business is driven by those who lead, who set high expectations, make clear what your job is, adopt, enforce and rigorously exercise process and will, without hesitation, hold people accountable when those processes are not adhered to or expectations not met. You may question (hate) how these leaders chose to hold people accountable and select a different approach. I am fine with that. But the moment mediocrity goes unchecked then losing surely follows.  

Let me address one final point that is commonly raised here. Are you likely to scare some talent away with this approach to leadership? Without a doubt, yes. This is a highly demanding environment to work in - an environment that will scare away those who fear rigid accountability. But there are folks who seek, grow, and thrive in this environment as well. Want proof? Look at the lines for those who want to work for Jeff Bezos, or under the leadership of Belichick or Saban. They do so because they know they will become better for the experience. And much like Boeing, where the sales department later became known as the launch pad for corporate leadership, so too has career success followed those who worked or played for these winning organizations/leaders.

About the author: Mike is the founder of Allegro Consulting, an Atlanta-based growth specialty firm helping business owners and start-up founders define growth strategies and improve how they interact and engage with customers to improve sales win-rates. He is a former international sales executive with Boeing and Lockheed where he led sales campaigns against rival U.S. based, French, UK, EU and Russian competitors to sell jet fighters to foreign allies. He is a passionate advocate (speaker bio) for strategic plans and sales process training. His sales record exceeds $10B.