From 1996-2000, the New York Yankees dominated the landscape of baseball. They won four championships in five years including 3 straight from 1998-2000.
What was their secret?
They had the best closer in baseball!
The role of a closer is to get the final outs in a close game when their team is leading. Whenever Mariano Rivera stepped on the mound for the Yankees, everyone watching knew the outcome. He was one of the game’s greatest closers.
This is a great analogy for sales professionals.
Your close is only as good as your set up
Mariano Rivera was never solely responsible for winning a baseball game. It’s a team effort. But when taking the mound with a game lead any loss would squarely rest on his shoulders.
Let’s be clear. If you are relying on your close to compensate for a lack of value or a sloppy sales presentation then you are in big trouble. The truth is no matter how good or polished your close is, it cannot cover up for a bad sales pitch.
That said the importance of your close cannot be overstated.
Master the close
Mariano Rivera became famous for his cut fastball. Over the years as his fastball velocity diminished, he relied on his cutter. His willingness and ability to master a different pitch kept him at the top of his game until he retired.
If you are having trouble with closing sales then you have to re-evaluate your close. To use abaseball analogy, you may need to add a new pitch to your repertoire.
