It’s early January 2004. The Green Bay Packers are just 72
seconds away from their fourth NFC Championship game. They have
a three-point lead over the Philadelphia Eagles, who face an
impossible fourth down and 26 yards on their own 28-yard line.
All Green Bay has to do is hold Philadelphia to less than 26
yards. One play. That’s all.
Just one play. In sports bars and living rooms across the
country jaws drop when Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb
completes a 28-yard pass to Freddie Mitchell, and the Eagles get
the first down. They kick a game-tying field goal and force the
Packers to dig in for overtime.
Philadelphia receives the ball. After struggling for little gain
the Eagles punt it away. Green Bay’s task is simple. Keep the
ball on the ground and advance into field goal range. Favre
takes the snap, drops back, and inexplicably heaves a long
pass... into double coverage. Into the hands of Eagle Brian
Dawkins. Into history. Philadelphia marches into field goal
range and kicks an easy three to win. Game over. Lights out.
Thank you for playing.
The Packers lost because they didn’t close. They played well,
but in the end it came down to the fact that they didn’t close
and the Eagles did.
More than just preparation
Talent, tools and preparation are vital to the success of NFL
players and sales professionals. But in order to change buying
habits, we must also incorporate closing into the natural life
of our sales presentations.
In simplest terms, a close is an agreement to take the next step
together. What you close for varies based on your overall
objectives and your history with a customer.
Have you ever seen a football team attempt a one hundred-yard
touchdown pass? Not likely. Both players and coaches understand
that a touchdown is the last of a series of plays, each designed
to bring the team closer to the goal line, which increases their
chances of a successful touchdown attempt, which brings them
closer to their ultimate goal of winning the game. Every play is
important.
It’s the same principle in sales. If you try to close a sales
call without first executing a customer-focused presentation,
you’re probably not going to be very successful. However, as the
Packers found out on that crisp January day, you can execute a
lot of good plays well, but if you fail to close, you don’t get
the win.
The clock is ticking... Green Bay legend Vince Lombardi
once said, “The Green Bay Packers never lost a game. They just
ran out of time.” In all likelihood, the Packers assumed that
their three-point lead was safe with just over a minute left on
the clock and Philadelphia deep in their own territory. The win
(close) was assumed. As Packer Al Harris said later,
“Fourth-and-26 yards, that's like fourth-and-forever.” That
assumption cost Green Bay the game. It may cost you a sale.
An effective close is carefully crafted to answer these
questions: What am I going to do? What are you going to do? What
is the expected outcome? When you close by gaining a commitment,
you make the touchdown. Because at the end of the day, someone
has closed the customer. Shouldn’t it be you?
Getting the win
By most measures 2003 was a successful season for Brett Favre.
He passed Dan Marino and climbed into second place on the NFL's
all-time list for postseason touchdown passes. He surpassed
Marino in all-time postseason passing yards, moving into third
place in the record books. Favre extended his NFL record for
consecutive postseason games with a touchdown pass to 15, and
pushed his NFL record for most consecutive starts at quarterback
to 208.
Clearly, the three-time MVP is a player with the talent, tools
and preparation to win. But his team’s failure to close is what
made the difference. Favre will be remembered as a champion, but
he will never have another chance to win that game.
When evaluating whether you’ve done enough to meet your
objective, ask yourself, “Did I close?” That could be the
difference between winning and losing.
Copyright ©2005 by Sally Bacchetta. All rights reserved.
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