Surgical Sales Planning
Thirty years ago certain knee injuries ended football careers.
Ligaments going snap bringing down many an illustrious curtain.
The most feared being the ACL. A ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
Medical advances of the late 80s, early 90s found ways to put them back in place. Keep them there with clever meshing. And encourage regrowth.
Time out the game still darkened a career. A fractured leg bone might heal in time for training resumption in just six weeks. Knee ligaments take a year to recover. Longer still to recapture where you left off.
With the world’s best defender now out for such treatment, Dutchman Virgil van Dijk in controversial circumstances, leading lights gather column inches.
Surgeon Andy Williams has mended a packed teamsheet of top players.
The Andy Williams XI (knee surgeon who has fixed most of them) – Conor Wickham too. Big shame for all these players to lose 9 months + pic.twitter.com/zXjBVguGfR
— Ian Watmore (@ianwatmore) July 24, 2017
In London’s Telegraph, he detailed the long road back. Along with this fascinating insight into how he approaches his actual ‘matchday’. The operation itself [registration req’d link];
“Like a lot of players I visualise my surgery before I do it.
If it’s a complex case the biggest thing is time pressure so sometimes the evening before I will draw the anatomy, especially if I have to go in in an unusual way – such as the back of the knee, layer by layer.
I draw it, go to bed and close my eyes and go through the whole operation from positioning the patient asleep, set up, what I do first, second, third.
Because if you don’t have your order planned you waste time and you often do the surgery with a tourniquet on which gives you two hours after which the lack of blood supply will damage the muscle, the nerves and you can ruin a limb.
With the actual surgery I am usually at great peace even though it’s a risky business.”
How many salespeople also do this?
Regretfully few.
We’ve all met the carefree seller. Who thinks ‘wingin’ it’ a badge of honour. Life’s a breeze.
Have no truck with them.
Many others will thankfully think about their upcoming ‘big’ call.
Yet can often be mostly nervous energy. Wasted thoughts, without purpose.
What you read above is the meticulous and structured.
Crucially, not just forethought. But drawing out their plan as well.
When have you sketched out a plan for your meeting?
Cascade through the levels, options, sections?
Then think on how you might shape what transpires to go your way.
Questions to cajole. Hurdles gently flattened. Suggestions nudged.
And then your prospect happily emerges from the knife of precision buying.