Baseball is America’s game. It provides thrills, strategy, suspense, heroics and athleticism all in one.

As of the writing of this article, (September 22, 2011) the batting average for ALL Major League players stand at .255.

That translates into 255 hits for every 1000 at bats.

The player that has the highest batting average is Adrian Gonzalez of the Boston Red Sox. Mr. Gonzalez is currently hitting .340, or 340 hits for every 1000 at bats.

Adrian Gonzalez is also among the top ten highest paid players in ALL of Major League Baseball with an annual salary of $21 million dollars per season!

So the very best hitter in ALL of Major League Baseball…..FAILS 66% of the time!

Mr. Gonzalez gets paid $21 million dollars a season to fail 66% of the time! The rest of the players in Major League Baseball also make millions failing at an even higher rate!

If the average player hits .255, the average failure rate is 74.5%!!

I find it rather astonishing that these same figures translate directly into closing percentages on an automotive showroom floor!

Failure is part of the game whether you are playing baseball or closing deals on the showroom floor.

In order to succeed in either, you have to embrace failure!

Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently!

When Adrian Gonzalez does NOT get a hit, do you think he sulks and whines about it??

NO!!!!

What Mr. Gonzalez does is analyze what just happened at that at bat.

• He studies video of how the pitcher pitches to him and how he reacts

• He studies his swing to see if there were flaws

• He reads charts of what pitches the pitcher throws at certain times

• He confers with coaches and mentors to help him get better

• He doesn’t allow himself to get angry or upset

• He practices, drills and rehearses relentlessly in an effort to get better

Mr. Gonzalez fully understands that he cannot get a hit every time he goes up to bat. He also understands he must embrace the failure and learn from it so the next time he goes to bat he does so with better knowledge and the correct attitude!

So now I ask the sales professionals in the room…..what is your batting average (closing percentage)???

Are you capable of raising your batting average to the highest in the dealership??

What will you do to raise your batting average???

Will you:

• Study your own product knowledge?

• Study the competitions product to know what they offer as compared to yours?

• Practice rapport building?

• Practice the steps on the road to the sale?

• Practice overcoming the objection you have a hard time overcoming?

• Know what your batting average is with all customers, i.e. first time customers, be-back customers, referral customers and repeat customers?

• Practice your presentation skills?

• Practice your demonstration drive route and conversation?

• Choose to have the correct attitude every single day?

• Not allow yourself to get down on yourself, angry or upset?

• Allow YOUR coaches to help you get better?

• Practice, drill and rehearse every single day without fail and no exceptions??

As you can see….failure is part of the game…..EMBRACE IT!

Learn from the failures and know that they are surely going to come!

They say you don’t drown by falling in the water…..you drown by STAYING in the water!

Don’t wait to get started on raising your batting average!

Only YOU can control your own outcome. Don’t wait for anyone to help you or get you started.

START YOURSELF…..NOW!!!!!

Only YOU know what your strengths and shortcomings are!

Attack your shortcomings like Adrian Gonzalez attacks the baseball!

You will see your batting average rise and your income soar!!!

About the Author: With 30 years in the retail Automotive Industry, from a Salesperson to a Dealer, I have a vast amount of experience in all areas of the automotive environment.

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