Whether you are a fan of Tom Brady or not, you must respect his consistent results. In the past 15 years, his team has only missed the playoffs two times. Of those playoff runs, his team went to the Super Bowl six times, winning four of the six appearances. And in all of the other playoff runs that did not lead to the Super Bowl, the team was still competitive, with 10 of the 13 playoff appearances going all the way to the conference championship round.

The team has been competitive and a contender every year since Brady took the job. Pretty consistent results, huh? Imagine performing that well as a sales professional. What would that look like for you from a commission and career growth standpoint?

Before we get to what you can do to improve your sales game, one last thing about Tom Brady. Did you know that Tom Brady may end up going down as one of the best quarterbacks of all time, and he was not expected to be a good quarterback when scouted and entered into the NFL Draft? He was nowhere close to a top pick, and if you have not seen it, this is a fascinating video on how there was a lack of respect for Tom Brady (see 8:41 in the video) and how he consistently fought to overachieve and win.

To start thinking about what we can take from Tom Brady and apply it to the world of selling, let’s look at some of the things that helped him achieve consistent results and perform so well.

Level of Competitiveness
If you have ever watched a game that Tom Brady played in, you will easily see an individual who operates with a high level of competitiveness. Watch how he enters the game, his demeanor on the sidelines, and how he acts and performs at the end of the game as he does everything he can to get the win, regardless of whether it is a playoff or regular-season game.

Stop to think about your internal level of competitiveness. Even though this is something more tied to your personality and how you live your life, there are some things you can do to increase your level of competitiveness and the fight you put in to succeed and win.

Confidence and Self-Belief
If you watch the video we shared, at 20:49, there is a mention of Tom Brady’s internal belief that he is going to win the starting job. There was no internal doubt.

He not only had the clear goal of securing the starting quarterback position, but he truly believed that he had everything he needed to achieve and deserved the job. You can assume that he has that same mindset when he confidently enters every game and believes that he will win.

There can be many ups and downs in the world of selling. You might have to face more prospects telling you “no” than those saying “yes.” How does that impact your internal dialogue with yourself?

Do you truly believe that you will meet and exceed your quota? Are you confident that you have what it takes to be successful? Being confident that you will be successful and that you have everything you need can help you achieve more consistent results.

Work Ethic
Looking at some of the NFL Combine footage from the video at 10:07, you notice that Tom Brady did not have all of the physical attributes that one would look for in an NFL quarterback. He made up for what Brady lacked in natural ability or physical characteristics with hard work.

It is not surprising that your level of work ethic can determine how well and consistently you perform. If you have a gap in terms of experience, knowledge, natural ability, territory, bag of products, etc., you can apply a level of work ethic to close that gap and improve your performance and consistency.

Game Planning
You can’t look at Brady’s success and exclude the fact that it is a team sport with many other moving parts and players. New England has been known for good game planning and the way that Tom Brady incorporates that into his plan for success and how to defeat the competition definitely plays a role in his success.

You can incorporate some level of game planning into your salesperson’s operation. Do you have a plan for overcoming your common objections? What key questions must you ask to qualify prospects and generate leads?

Having a good playbook will significantly improve your level of sales performance and your ability to deliver consistent sales results.

Level of Preparation
Brady’s ability to read defenses and consistently make the right decisions suggests that he spends a tremendous amount of time studying and preparing for each opponent he faces.

Preparation can also affect your performance as a salesperson. Do you always know what key questions to ask your prospects? Do you know how to respond to their playbook?

Being prepared in those two simple areas can be the difference between failure and success.

Makes the Most Out of What He Has to Work With
We mentioned how Brady has led his team to the playoffs in 13 of 15 years. One of the most exciting things to look at is that the cast of characters around Brady has constantly changed through those years, yet his results of performing at a high level and making it to the playoffs have stayed consistent. You can attribute this to many different things, but one factor is that Brady always makes the most out of what he has to work with.

He does not let weaknesses or gaps become a reason or excuse for slowing the team down. Instead, he motivates those around him to perform at the highest possible level.

Applying this to being a sales professional, you will face periods where your portfolio of products, your territory, or even the team you are on will have gaps and weaknesses. Many sales professionals can let these attributes slow them down and create a lot of negative thoughts and doubts.

Having a positive attitude and making the most out of what you have to work with can help you perform at a higher level.

Perseverance
When you add all of that up and watch Tom Brady at the end of a competitive football game, it is easy to see that he operates with a level of perseverance. He fights, does not let anything get in his way, and never gives up when pursuing his goals of winning every game, making the playoffs, and becoming the league champion.

If you want to be a sales pro who performs at the highest possible level and consistently meets and exceeds expectations, you will need to always maintain perseverance in your approach to every day and the ebbs and flows of selling.