Another sports-to-selling analogy comes to life!
Well, last night was chapter 1,079 in my life as a long-suffering Royals fan; a heartbreaking loss to Detroit, 3-1. But at least I got something out of it. Here’s the situation: Rookie Danny Duffy pitched a very nice start, 6 innings, 2 runs. Going into the bottom of the ninth, Royals were down 3-1, with Alex Gordon and Billy Butler making the first two outs. With two out and nobody on and Detroit’s closer on the mound, Eric Hosmer drew a walk. And then Detroit made a choice that could have cost them the game.
They chose not to defend the stolen base against Hosmer; i.e. the first baseman didn’t hold Hosmer on first and the catcher didn’t throw when Hosmer advanced to second. No big deal, right? That run doesn’t matter – theoretically – because the tying run (at the plate in the person of Jeff Francoeur) was behind Hosmer. So, Hosmer took second, on what is called “Defensive indifference.” Francoeur then hits a sharp grounder to Detroit shortstop Jhonny (yes, I spelled that correctly) Peralta. Hosmer crosses in front of Peralta, which appeared to distract Peralta enough for the shortstop to bobble the ball. Francoeur is safe at first.
Then, Francoeur steals second. Suddenly, the Royals have the tying run in scoring position – and none of it would have happened had Hosmer not taken second. Had Detroit defended the base against Hosmer, it’s unlikely that he would have attempted to steal – not with the tying run at the plate and two out in the ninth inning. Because of one instance of Defensive Indifference, Detroit now faced a situation where a sharp single tied a game that had looked very safe.
Of course, because this is the Royals, Mike Moustakas flied out to left, and ended the game. But that’s not the point.
I see “Sales Indifference” every day. Salespeople who go in to meet a customer with no objective, no idea, no game plan, and no real way to make a profit out of the call – just going through the motions. That’s “Sales Indifference.” Even one call like that can be enough to lose a customer; do it often enough and your customers will leave in droves.
So, do YOU play to win on every call, or could the scorer call “Sales Indifference” on you?
