England Hammer New Zealand

Quite Incredible. What a day out last Saturday. I couldn’t let this week slip by without mentioning this historic Twickenham victory.

Kudos to the Kiwis in defeat though. There’s plenty of banter about the identity of the planet’s most biased commentators (no debate necessary – it is any New Zealander at a rugby match with mic in hand). As well as the international team that profits from the most ‘cheating’ (again, open and shut case, the All Blacks get away with murder at every single breakdown). Yet after Saturday’s game, press, players and coaches were laudably singing the English praises.

One of many articles I insatiably hoovered up caught the next Lions’ coach speaking in the week. Kiwi Warren Gatland. He touched on the difference in approach of the talent production line between the two nations. Here’s a snippet;

“I look at what my son goes through at his school [Hamilton Boys’ High in New Zealand] and it does not compare.

“He’s in at 6am on a Monday doing shuttles, then there’s individual skills and work-ons in the afternoon.

He’ll do weights on Tuesday morning again at six followed by a rugby session in the afternoon.

Wednesday is a day off and then it’ll be more weights on Thursday morning and more skills or teamwork on Thursday afternoon.

Friday lunchtime they’ll have a captain’s run and they play on Saturday.”

That’s a hell of a routine. And it produces uniquely world class product.

It got me thinking about world class sales talent. And world class sales teams.

I wince to say it, but it’s true. Most sales outfits wing it. Their approach to personal development is a million miles away from the Kiwi rugby model. And that’s just the schoolkids.

Where are the run-throughs of key pitches, presentations, objection handles, specific role engagements?

And how is the progress on each of these monitored so as to nudge it higher?

This kind of stuff should be the girders of steel that keep the entire sales effort standing strong in the superstorm. . . So where are they?