Blackjack is one of the few casino games where you have almost the same chance of winning at the table. Most business owners and sales professionals would love to have a 50/50 chance when trying to close a sale. Let’s look at the three key principles of Blackjack and see how they can be applied to the game of sales:
1. Understand the rules of the game
Blackjack has rules that dictate how and when cards are dealt, what combinations of cards make up a winning hand, and how the dealer must play their hand. Also, mathematical odds lays out a set of “rules” that you must follow to maximize your chances of winning. By sticking to the rules, he reduces the house edge to just a few percent.
Key Factors: In order to follow the rules, you must be emotionally detached from the process and you must follow the rules consistently. If the rules specify that you always split aces and eights, then you must always split aces and eights. If the odds specify that you should wait for 14 when the dealer’s up card is six or less, that’s what you should do. You can’t play hunches. You can’t guess the odds.
2. Never risk more than you can afford to lose
The wisdom of the rule should be obvious. If it’s not wise, as the adage suggests, to “put all your eggs in one basket,” it’s just as foolish to bet all your money (especially if it’s your last dollar) on one hand.
3. Know when to walk away
If you play the game long enough, you’ll probably notice a sine wave-like pattern to your winnings. Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re even, and sometimes you’re down. Unfortunately, the pattern is not a perfect sine wave with a fixed, predictable frequency and amplitude. Therefore, you should set a goal in advance to walk away when you are up or down by a specific amount. In either case, you walk away a winner, as measured by your actual winnings or simply the fact that you survived to play another day, or perhaps another table.
Apply Blackjack Winning Principles for Sales Success
1. Understand the rules of the game.
A cardinal rule of the game is that you don’t spend your time looking for low-probability opportunities, no matter how badly you want or need a sale. Just like in Blackjack, you must remain emotionally detached from the process. If the opportunity isn’t up to the task…well, then it’s not up to the job, and it’s time to move on and find one that is.
Low probability opportunities exist when:
– There is no compelling reason for the prospect to buy your product or service or buy it from YOU.
– The prospect is unwilling or unable to make the investment required to obtain your product or service
– You cannot meet all of the prospect’s criteria to buy your product or service or buy from you instead of a competitor.
2. Never risk more than you can afford to lose.
“Bet” your time wisely. Don’t spend all your time chasing an opportunity. That is not a winning strategy. You must have more than one active opportunity in your pipeline.
3. Know when to walk away.
Sometimes it’s not in the cards. Some sales leads will progress predictably and perhaps quickly, and you’ll add a new name to your customer list. Other opportunities will continue. Some prospects don’t commit, or if they do, they won’t follow through. In those cases, you should reduce your losses (of time and energy). You should close the file, walk away, and spend your time identifying other, potentially more viable opportunities.
When you follow the rules, you can bet on the outcome: more sales closed, more often.
