Sales and Sales Management Blog

Focus on the Fundamentals
By Kurt Theriault

Something I look forward to each year is the new Jack Nicklaus golf calendar.  In the calendar, on a sidebar, Nicklaus shares how he approached every new golf season.  Arguably the best player of all time (Tiger Woods may have something to say about this) – he would return to his teacher to work on the basics of the game – grip, posture, and alignment.  They would drill and practice these fundamentals until once again mastered.  This fundamental approach worked well.  By never letting up on execution of the basics, Nicklaus made big things happen – 18 career major golf championships – the standard measure of success in the golf profession.

What’s the connection to the business world?  The beginning of any year is commonly associated with driving towards new goals or executing a new strategy.  Typically all are renewed and immersed in doing everything possible to make it happen.  However, frequently the outcome is Q1 ends and little of what was intended to happen actually did.  Why is this?  Often it can be traced back to losing focus on the fundamentals to success for the game you are in. 

Here are four steps to help you focus (or in Jack’s case, refocus) on the vital, basic things to make the needed targets become reality.

1- Take a step back and get focused on the ultimate outcome. When the work of the work gets hectic, it is easy to lose focus.  The seduction is to put your attention towards what’s immediately in front of your face – emails, teleconferences, meetings, or whatever happens to be screaming at you the loudest.  Before you know it you’re spread out a “mile wide and an inch deep” and making progress towards nothing.  Challenge yourself to step back, remember the successful outcome you want and use that as the driver of your decision making and priorities.  Try asking yourself two questions.  One, if my successful outcome was printed on the front page of the business section, what would it say?  Two, is what I am working on right now helping me get closer to my successful outcome?   

2- Decide the highest-impact things that must go right for success. This is where you should focus your time and energy.  If it’s one thing, great.  Often it is two or three.  Resist the temptation to try and do more.  This is where most breakdowns occur. When we try to take on too much, moving forward becomes too difficult and the easy out is to change the strategy (move on to something else). 

Let’s say your ultimate outcome is to drive more new business.  Figure out what will make or break success.  Is it referrals?  Is it cold calls?  Is it being more successful at trade events? Decide what is most critical to tackle and go for it. 

3- Determine and begin doing the basic things that make success happen. These are the fundamentals.  You’ve identified the few areas you must focus on.  Now, what are the basic things that must be done often and with excellence for success?  For example, if the focus is generating more quality referrals, you must be great at the fundamentals of communicating with and educating others on what you do, the value that brings, and who you want to meet.  You must be great at putting yourself in the position to meet people who are connected to your target customer base.  You must be clear and consistent in how you communicate ongoing progress with the referral back to the source.  Making sure you are executing these and other fundamentals effectively and spending your time doing so will get you infinitely closer to your goals.   

4- Master the fundamentals before moving on! The key to effectiveness is doing the common things uncommonly well.  Start big and work to small.  You can’t “do” a goal or an outcome only the activities or steps to get you there.  Excel at these and results will follow.

Challenge yourself as the year progresses to focus and stick to executing and mastering the fundamentals required to make your strategies come to life.  I think you will be very pleased with the outcome.

Kurt Theriault is Senior Partner and Chief Marketing Officer of Business Efficacy, a consultancy founded 16 years ago to help companies turn strategies and goals into measurable results.  Kurt has spent the past 13 years in sales, sales management, professional development, marketing and consulting. He is responsible for business and product development and helping spread the word about Business Efficacy’s belief in the importance of sales management’s role in driving sales execution.  Visit Business Efficacy’s website.