If you’re in a sales or leadership role, most likely you are a competitive person. Even if you’re not, it is still more fun to win!

Earlier this year, I joined a bowling league for fun. I was a decent bowler, but not great. I was lucky to be included on a team of great bowlers. I knew going in I was going to be the worst person on the team. I didn’t have the skills to be at their level but I knew I could be better. As the league progressed, I did get better, and my team got stronger too. Last week we were tied for first place for the season and with only one week remaining, we could actually finish in first place.

After hearing the story, Mary Ann says to me, “Is there anything you can’t do?” The truth is, there is plenty I can’t do. But, everyone that knows me, knows that I am competitive and if I am going to do something, then I want to do it well, and I want to win.

Competition exists in all aspects of one’s life. Whether it is a bowling league, a 5K run, or a personal challenge – it is more fun to win. When you’re doing well, you are motivated to win more. The better you become, the better you want to become. It’s true in business too.

Do you know those people that seem to win at everything they do? Here is how they do it.

1. They know that a series of little wins leads to a bigger win – A major league baseball team doesn’t win the world series without first winning games throughout the season. Likewise, making a quota or budget doesn’t happen in a single week. Achieving smaller, short-term goals leads to achieving bigger long-term goals.

2. They know they need to master the basics – Every activity in sports or business is built upon a set of fundamental skills. Just like you can’t learn to run before you learn to walk, you can’t lead a company without first understanding your customers.

3. They know even an expert needs a coach – Having someone experienced evaluate what you’re doing and provide guidance is crucial to improvement. A coach can get you to believe in yourself, help you set goals, build skills, and provide structure and discipline to help you meet them.

4. They practice and they work hard – Even when the basics are mastered, they are still practiced. They may have done the sales pitch 100 times before, but a winner still practices before the next presentation. They put in the time and effort to be successful.

5. When they fall down, they get back up – Everyone has a bad performance, made a mistake, came in second, or failed at something. A winner learns from the experience to become stronger to come in first the next time.

6. They know they don’t win alone – A great baseball pitcher doesn’t win the game by himself and a sales person never wins a new deal by himself. You have a team (or family) of people standing by your side, supporting your efforts, providing motivation to keep going, and you win together and you celebrate together.

If you want to gain a competitive advantage to help you and your team win, let Butler Street help. With training programs that will help your team master the basics with a system of reinforcing activities for continuous improvement to leadership development and executive coaching, we can help make you stronger and win more! In fact, Butler Street clients grow on average 4 times the market, because Our Leaders know what it’s like to win.

Now if I could just get them to coach my bowling team…