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Have you ever watched an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fight? Or have you ever trained in MMA before? Well if you have then you will know what a knockout is and a submission, a knockout can and usually end very quick and sudden and if you blink you have missed it. Men and women have trained in various types of stand up combat from boxing to kickboxing, muay thai to karate. Those who have trained in any of these disciplines know that you are using your fists, shins, elbows and knees to deliver a very sudden and decisive blow that will end the contest. Now a submission is the ability to make your opponent quit by either tapping out or verbally submitting, the main form of submission is called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it was started by the great Mitsuyo Maeda and made famous by master Helio Gracie who then passed it to the rest of his family and now the Gracie name is known all over the world when it comes to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, when it comes to jiu jitsu think of it as a human chess match you really have to take your time and calculate what you are going to do next because one small mistake means you are either taking a nap or one of your limbs is close to breaking. The point I am making here is this, in sales you will have the knockout sale or the quick close and you will have the submission which takes work and time to get but you will get eventually, in this article I will go over what it takes and the right steps to handle the “knockout” and the “submission” so let’s get started.
Preparing For The Fight:
With any type of situation whether it be MMA, swimming, basketball or baseball you have practice or training sessions, there is no difference in sales, you train everyday. You show up to your job and you take in and learn as much as possible, that is training and you have to train everyday in order to be successful at anything you do, if you do not train you will never master the craft. Everyday fighters wake up early, have a cup of coffee down a protein shake and head to the gym. There should be no difference when you get up for your job, except your job is now your gym. Go in there determined and eager to learn as much as you can to master your craft and sometimes there will be people who are very talented with what they do but they lack the desire and discipline to move forward, Royce Gracie who is Helio’s son and the one to bring Brazilian Jiu Jitsu into the national spotlight when he competed at UFC 1 once said “ Talented people without discipline don’t go anywhere”, think about that for a second, you have someone in your office who can be amazing at what they do and has amazing closing numbers but they lack the discipline to evolve and learn more simply because they think that what they know will always work, news flash everything evolves and so do people. You can not always think that your style will carry you into success. You have to know when to stop, evaluate and regroup.
The Knockout:
Whether it is boxing or MMA you will no doubt see a knockout. A knockout is quick and swift and will leave you speechless. In the sales world I call a quick sale a knockout, you were not expecting it and it came very suddenly. These sales are awesome! In my opinion this lights a fire under you to get more deals and close them. Have you ever seen a fighter after they deliver a knockout? They are on cloud 9 and fired up to no end like they want to go again and again. This is the desire you want in sales, you want to be that sales rep who delivers these knockouts for your company over and over again. Look at Mark Hunt who is known as the Super Samoan, this man has been in the fighting world the majority of his life and is as tough as they come. He has fought all over the world and is a fan favourite. When he was fighting in Japan for the now defunct promotion Pride FC he delivered some of the most highlight reel knockouts, when he made his way into the UFC he has been on a tear and all of his knockouts have been memorable as well as walk offs, now back to the sales aspect of this, I am not saying you should always be looking for the knockout deal because it will not always be there. You have to train yourself to be prepared for any kind of deal that comes your way. You have to remain focused and ready to close at anytime with any kind of sale. A knockout deal cannot always be your goal because if you try you will lose out on many other deals which is not good.
The Submission:
This is one of my favorites not only as someone who use to train myself and loved the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu but because the submission deals are the ones that take time and you have to really use your head and think about your next move even if you are getting worked over pretty good. Frank Mir is one of the best American Jiu Jitsu practitioners in the world, he has a black belt and has held many world titles. In February 2008 Frank Mir welcomed a 2 time NCAA national wrestling champion by the name of Brock Lesnar, yes the same guy who was a pro wrestler. Brock was an absolute monster coming in at 6’3 265 pounds, Frank who was smaller than Brock took the fight knowing he was going to give up size and power. In the first round Brock went straight for takedown and got it, he was beating Frank pretty bad and it looked like the fight was going to be over. But what people don’t know is that all the while Frank was getting beaten on he was thinking, thinking about where the submission was, and at 1:30 into the first round Frank grabbed Brocks leg and snapped him into a kneebar forcing him to either tap or have his leg broken. That is what submission sales are all about, you have to be methodical and plan your approach even when you are getting beat up. Take your time with the client and really hear what they are looking for before you jump into a sales pitch or try selling them anything. Know exactly what they want and why they want it. Plan your next step before you get to it and look for the right opening. If the client knows you are not trying to rush into putting something into their hands they will have better reception but that does not mean you are in the clear. You have to know when is the right moment to reel them in and when is not the right time. The submission will be there you just have to look for your opening.
In conclusion I had no idea how much the sales game could relate to the MMA game haha, but they really do have a lot of similarities. Take your time for the submission sale and always be willing to capitalize on the knockout sale when the opportunity presents itself. I hope this has been helpful and maybe peaked your interest into watching MMA and being able to see these things for yourself. Thank you for reading.
By: Josh Cardoza, Strategic Alliance Coordinator
