What Does the Sacrifice Bunt Teach About Sales?

In December, it is near impossible to not think about giving. When I think about giving in baseball, the sacrifice bunt is the first image that comes to mind. It models what giving should really look like as it is completely about the receivers of the "gift", the hitter on deck, runner on base and team as a whole.

Often this play unfolds late in a game when the runner aboard is the potential go ahead run. Any baseball player would be lying if they said they wouldn't enjoy being the hero of the game by hitting a two run homer instead of laying down a sacrifice bunt. Putting down a sacrifice bunt guarantees the best case scenario being the middleman and another teammate being the hero if the team wins. The sacrifice bunt is one of the most selfless yet simple plays in all of sports.

What would it look like if making a sale was looked at through the same lens?

LendingTree has run an ad that comes to mind when I think of this principle of storytelling through concentrating on the receiving end. The mortgage application process isn't exactly what anyone would choose to do for fun in their free time. No different any hitter would prefer to practice taking swings than bunts.

Instead of showing rates and different types of mortgage products, the ad portrays how easy it is to use their service through the actor going from wearing a suit on his way out the door to the bank to discuss applying for a mortgage to his boxers on his couch because the banks will come to him through LendingTree's website. The company has done a great job of embracing what the customer wants, the house and home ownership, while easing the pain around finding a lender and going through the application process.  

Focusing on the internal problem being the stress normally attached to the home buying process instead of the external problem of finding the lowest rate causes the ad to resonate. By striking an emotional cord, it more easily leads to action being taken by the individual looking for a mortgage. CarMax is another example that puts emphasis on creating a friendly buying experience by heavily marketing their no haggle pricing.

Both of these companies lead with client centered value first by sacrificing talking about having the "best" mortgages or cars. This team approach in their marketing leads to reaching the end destination in which the customer, salesperson and company win.

The sacrifice bunt allows the same to happen on the baseball field. The end destination if executed is that the team wins and therefore everyone involved gets credit for doing their part whether it was scoring the run, driving it in or setting it up.

(Photo Credit: David Jablonski/Dayton Daily News)

Applying this sacrifice bunt principle within the bigger story your clients or customers face will allow them to see how they can bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be. There's much more depth that can be dug into and written on this process. Bottom line though your clients will see you as the top product or service option with this genuine approach. Their being the hero in their own story is what will draw them to taking action in which case everyone wins. 

This article was originally published on baseballandbusiness.com, a website dedicated to helping current and former baseball players win on the business field.

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