What do you say when your wife tells you that your son's soccer league needs coaches and experience doesn't matter?  If your son is four years old you tell your wife that you're allergic to grass.  If that doesn't work, try explaining that coaching would interfere with your new interest in knitting sweaters for seeing-eye dogs or mapping the phases of the moon during leap years.

I know that's what you should do because I didn't do that and I am now the head coach of the John's Creek Cheetahs.  Eight very energetic boys who turn five years old this year.

Of course, I love being with my son.  Teaching the basics of soccer and just running around the field is great and when the boys do something that we've reviewed in practice my heart fills with pride.  But, come on!  Do they have to be so crazy?! 

They are incapable of standing in line or even standing for that matter.  When I ask Connor to move over a wee bit and put my hand on his hip to indicate the direction he should move - he falls down in a heap of arms and legs.  For no discernible reason at least two other boys will also fall down - as if in sympathy with Connor's plight.

They constantly push and grab each other while carrying on endless conversations about whatever comes to mind.  I will gather the boys in a huddle and before I can inspire them, one will say:

"My brother can kick a soccer ball one hundred."

Before anyone can determine if that is a measure of speed or distance, the others will chime in:

"I don't have a brother, only a sister and she is three."

"My brother plays baseball."

"My Dad can kick a ball one million hundred eighty!"

Despite the chaotic nature of our practices, we usually win our games on the strength of three or four players.  Interestingly, the talents and skills they exhibit in our games can be adopted by sellers who also want to succeed.  Check it out:

1) Head straight toward the goal.  We play 3 v 3 and the six players on the field are typically within two steps of the ball.  This cluster moves around the field until the ball squirts free and a player kicks the ball towards the goal.  The most successful scorers go in a straight line to the goal.  The less successful players end up trapped in a corner.  I see the same thing at work.  Given the same opportunities, the best sellers will make the sale far more frequently than the average seller.  The best sellers understand that the point of what they are doing is to generate revenue by getting a prospect to say "yes" to their proposal.  They keep the goal in front of them as they prepare their presentations and hone their approach.

2) Be Determined.  Our best players stop at nothing.  If the ball is taken away from them they run down the opposition and do everything possible to stop them and take the ball back.  When they fall down, they get back up.  When others are in their way they keep kicking at the ball until they can burst into open territory.  Determination is also the hallmark of the best sellers.  They aren't always successful but they never give up..

3) Know which way you're going.  During every single game there is at least one occasion when our players take off towards the goal we are defending and attempt to score.  This happens most often immediately after the second half begins and we have switched sides.  Usually, one of the best players on our team will see what is going on and switch to defense to stop his own teammate from making an "own" goal.  I can't tell you how many times I've had to do something similar during a sales presentation.  Sellers who are so focused on what they are going to do next will only half-listen to the questions that prospects are asking.  They get turned around during these portions of the presentation.  The cure is to pay attention to what is being said, make sure you understand how to proceed and then act in a deliberate manner instead of getting caught up in the moment.

4) Stay focused.  I have to say "turn and face the ball" at least fifty times during a typical game.  On every throw-in or corner kick or goal kick or kick-off I have players who are looking at the crowd or the sky or the grass or a bird.  Their lack of focus makes it difficult to perform well.  How many of us have these moments at work?  We forget to prioritize our efforts and end up wasting time on non-productive behaviors.  A good way to avoid this is to have a trigger - like the clock changing to the next hour - that causes us to re-evaluate our current behavior and measure it against the specific actions we know to be most productive.

5) Remember to celebrate.  At the end of every game, the kids all run through a tunnel created by the parents interlocking their hands above their heads while facing each other in parallel lines.  Immediately thereafter we all drink juice and eat cookies.  I highly recommend some version of this at work!