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, 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 mapping the phases of the moon.

I didn't do that and I am now the head coach of eight very energetic boys who turn five years old this year.  Teaching the basics of soccer 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.

They carry on endless conversations about whatever comes to mind.  I will gather the boys in a huddle and before I can offer instructions, one will say:

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

Before one 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."

However, my time on the soccer field has given me some thoughts about how youth soccer skills can improve productivity in the sales department.  Here are three tips for sellers:

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.  The most successful scorers then take the ball in a straight line to the goal.  The less successful players end up trapped in a corner.  I see the same thing at work.  The best sellers understand exactly what they are trying to accomplish and they keep the goal in front of them as they prepare their presentations and hone their approach.

2) Be Determined.  The best players stop at nothing.  If the ball is taken away from them, they run down the opposition 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 burst into open territory.  There is nothing more important than determination in sales.  

3) Stay focused.  I have to say "turn and face the ball" at least fifty times during a typical game.  On every throw-in or goal kick I have players who are looking at the crowd or the sky or the grass.  Their lack of focus makes it difficult to perform well.  Sellers have these moments, too.  We forget to prioritize our efforts and end up wasting time on non-productive behaviors. 

And, two for managers:

1) Keep people motivated.  Every once in a while, a kid will come up to me during practice and say, "This isn't fun."  The first time it happened, I was confused.  Fun?  What did that have to do with anything?   As it turns out, kids have lots of choices for after school activities and many of them joined a soccer team to have fun.  If I couldn't help provide that then they would lose interest and stop performing at a high level.  Of course, this is true for sellers, too.  While managers can't motivate sellers, they can certainly create an atmosphere in which high-performers keep themselves motivated.  Remember, the best sellers always have lots of choices.

2) Remember to celebrate.  At the end of every game, the kids all run through a tunnel of parents interlocking their hands above their heads while facing each other in parallel lines.  Immediately thereafter we all drink juice and eat cookies.  Celebrating youth soccer is easy because everything is an accomplishment - even just the end of the game!  While finding accomplishments to celebrate at work might be more difficult it is equally important and must be done regularly.