What are we to make of people who are said to have "all the talent in the world" but somehow don't seem to win? If you watch sports, like I do, then you hear it all the time. Recently, during the Daytona 500 telecast, one announcer declared that a certain driver was "as talented a driver as we have on the track" but hadn't yet won a race.
And have you heard the tale of Tiger Woods walking through the clubhouse after a round? John Daly is sitting at the bar having a beer and he calls out to Tiger,
"C'mon and join me one time. Forget about the weight room for once and just have a beer with me."
Tiger is reported to have said, "If I had your talent, John, I wouldn't need to hit the weight room," as he headed to the locker room.
Is it possible that John Daly has more talent than Tiger Woods? That, of course, depends on how one defines talent. In golf, most people would think that the most talented golfer is the one who is the best "ball striker". That is, he can hit the ball in the center of the club face nearly 100% of the time. He can carry the ball the right distance and make adjustments to his swing in order to make the ball fly on a different path. But, on the PGA tour, this describes nearly everyone. There must be something more going on that helps explain why Tiger Woods won 7 out of the 16 events he entered last year and John Daly won zero.
The "something more" is the new definition of talent that has been discovered by The Gallup Organization. Gallup defines talent as "any recurring pattern of thought, feeling or behavior that can be productively applied." (p. 48 Now, Discover Your Strengths). Gallup went on to define and name all of the talents of humans. For a complete list of the talents and a description of each, please read the book by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton.
We all know intuitively that talent is a recurring pattern of behavior. Success at golf requires one to be able to repeatedly swing the golf club so that the ball is struck in the center of the face. Success in motorsports requires one to repeatedly choose the right line on the track and to make good decisions about when to pass and when to draft. In sales, it's important to repeatedly make presentations to qualified prospects. But, as pointed out already, at the highest levels all the participants can do those things. What is at play that allows certain golfers and certain drivers and certain sellers to excel?
The answer lies in the other part of the definition of talent - "any recurring pattern of thought, feeling. . . that can be productively applied." Ask any professional analyst the reason why Tiger excels and they will tell you that it is his mental focus. They compare Tiger's ability to shut out distractions and hit the required shot under pressure to that of Jack Nicklaus. No wonder that one is the all time champ in major victories and the other is the greatest golfer the world has ever known. So, Tiger's talent is not just his ability to hit the ball correctly but also his ability to focus on exactly what is required in the moment.
John Daly doesn't have this talent and therefore, it is incorrect to say that John Daly is as talented a golfer as Tiger Woods.
At the highest levels of NASCAR, a driver needs the ability to communicate effectively with his crew chief. He must be able to describe exactly how the car feels so that the chief can direct the pit crew to make adjustments to the car when it comes in for a pit stop. So, the most talented driver is the one that can choose lines and make decisions as well as the other drivers but who can also communicate the nuances of the mechanics of the car to another person over the radio while driving 180 mph!!
When we start to think of talent in this way, it is much easier to understand why there are dominant performers among even the most physically gifted.
In sales, the critical nature of repeating thoughts and feelings, as well as behaviors, is as important to excellence as in the sports examples above. The very best sellers are able to put rejection behind them quickly and focus their efforts on making the next sales call. The very best sellers experience the negative feelings that go along with rejection as much as the average seller but they put another feeling in its place more quickly. The link between positive thoughts and success in sales is well documented. So, it's consistent to describe the most talented sellers as the ones most capable of repeated positive thoughts.
In sales, it is not enough to be persuasive or to be charismatic. Successfully repeating those behaviors will help you achieve some level of success. But to reach the highest levels, sellers must be able to repeat thoughts and feelings as consistently as the top achievers in sports.
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