You may wonder what athletes and salespeople have in common – it’s more than you think. Whether you’re trying to win on the field or in the field, sales people and athletes have many common characteristics. Think of the superstar athletes you idolized when you were growing up. Maybe you dreamed of making slam dunks like Michael Jordan, winning Wimbledon like Serena Williams, or hitting home runs like Ken Griffey, Jr. You recognized in them what so many others have too – not only do they have the talent to succeed, they have the drive to make it happen.

Athletes thrive on competition, using it as a motivator to heighten their own games. This is what athletes and salespeople have in common. You may never play in the Super Bowl or the World Cup, but you can take a page out of these superstars’ win-at-all-costs playbook when it comes to sales motivation.

To be successful in a competitive atmosphere, similar qualities, disciplines, and tactics to top athletes are required. Here are the top common traits amongst sales people and athletes.

1. Persistence

When Michael Jordan was in high school in North Carolina, he was already a talented basketball player, but his coaches didn’t recognize just how talented he was. When he tried out for his varsity team, he didn’t make the cut, and he was placed on the B-Team instead. Rather than let that get him down, he kept at it and eventually went on to be regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time. This kind of persistence is key in sales motivation. In sales, you may hear “no” a lot. When you’re just starting out, you’re likely going to hear it a lot more than often than you hear “yes”. You can’t let it discourage you, and you can’t give up.

2. Discipline

Tiger Woods was a golf prodigy who began playing when he was two years old and could outplay many professionals before he was in his teens. Despite these innate gifts and all the accolades he’s received, Woods still practiced endlessly growing up and continues to this day. In order to be the very best in sales, you need to have the discipline to work hard every day, to put in the hours it takes to be successful. 

3. Competitive Spirit

“I am the greatest,” Muhammad Ali once said. “I said that even before I knew I was.” There’s a reason why Ali is the most legendary boxer of all time. Sure, he’s immensely skilled and talented, but that’s true of a lot of other boxers too. But Ali is as famous for his confidence and competitive spirit as for his boxing acumen. It’s that kind of fighting spirit that’s going to serve as prime sales motivation and take you far in this industry. There’s a lot of other people out there trying to make a sale – you have to want it more.

4. Drive

Perhaps no athlete best exemplifies the drive you need to succeed in sports than Serena Williams. Growing up in Compton, Williams did not have the advantages that a lot of successful young tennis champions do. But today she earns tens of millions of dollars in endorsements every year and she holds the all-time record in countless tennis achievements, from Grand Slams to U.S. Open wins to singles matches. Today, many consider Williams not just the greatest female athlete or the greatest tennis player, but the greatest athlete of all time. The drive to succeed like Serena Williams is part of what athletes and salespeople have in common. No matter what advantages you start off with, you take what you’re given and make it work. 

5. Focus on Winning

There’s probably no professional sports team that most exemplifies winning more than the New York Yankees. They’ve appeared in 40 World Series (twice the amount of the next best team) and they’ve won 27 of them (far more than twice the amount of the next best team). Whether it’s the era of Ruth and Gehrig or DiMaggio and Mantle or Jeter and A-Rod, there’s no period in baseball in which the New York Yankees weren’t considered the top dog. That unrivaled degree of success should serve as prime sales motivation for any salesperson. No matter what team you root for, you want to win like the Yankees.

6. Resilience

You can take lessons from teams that aren’t quite as successful as the Yankees too. For 108 years, the Chicago Cubs were renowned as the “lovable losers” of American sports. No professional sports team in America has ever gone that long without winning a championship. Some claimed they were cursed, others just accepted they didn’t have the money to compete with big market teams like the Yankees and the Dodgers, and many accepted the Cubs were always destined to lose… and then came 2016 and one of the most memorable World Series of all time. This resilience is part of what athletes and salespeople have in common. Setbacks happen, and sometimes they’re unavoidable. The key is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back out there. Eventually, you’ll succeed.

7. Constant Improvement

At the 1936 Olympics, when Jesse Owens set the world record of running a 100 meter dash in 10.2 seconds, it was an astounding world record achievement that made Owens one of the most celebrated athletes of all time. It’s a record that has since been broken over 50 times. Athletes are never satisfied that the best has already been achieved: they’re always ready to run faster, be stronger, and accomplish more. That’s what athletes and salespeople have in common. No matter what level of success you feel you’ve reached in this industry, there are always opportunities to do better, to work harder. This constant drive to do your best can work as powerful sales motivation.

We’re not all blessed with the amazing physical gifts of these superstar athletes. But hard work and determination are not things you’re born with, they’re things you work toward. Using these amazing athletes as your sales motivation can be the first steps to an amazing sales career.

Excelling in the world of professional sports requires a robust combination of talent, discipline, and determination. It takes talent to channel formidable skill into performance. However, talent alone won’t get the job done. Discipline is required to put in the time to harness that talent to its highest level, and determination is what drives top athletes through the most challenging times, keeping them focused on the prize.

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The attributes that allow elite athletes to excel and perform at near super-human levels are just as useful in the boardroom as on the playing field. Step up your game by adding these life lessons from sports to your professional playbook.

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Have Clear Goals.

Whether it’s winning a gold medal or taking their team to the championships, athletes are always striving toward very specific goals. They dream big and lean on their drive to keep pushing their objectives forward, even when things get tough. Whatever success looks like for you, having a clear vision of your goals gives you a tangible reason to fight through setbacks and overcome obstacles. Whether you want to upgrade your infrastructure, grow your business by 200% in three years, or create a sea of change in your industry, write down your goals. Set and prioritize your objectives, define your benchmarks for success, then go for it.

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Be Willing to Fail.

Some of the world’s biggest success stories started out as unremarkable failures. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity basketball team. That didn’t stop him from becoming one of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen. Shrinking away from challenges or trying to avoid failure is the surest way to fail. There are bound to be difficulties on the road to success, and not everything will work out as you plan. But as Wayne Gretzky once said, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, so don’t fear failure; embrace it! Setbacks are a natural part of any challenging journey and they bring valuable lessons that help you grow as you move closer to your goals.

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Practice Discipline.

Reaching the pinnacle in your field requires getting up every day, having a game plan, following it diligently, and resisting distractions that do not further your goals. Athletes stick to their training regimens, no matter what, because they understand the importance of being prepared and sharpening their skills. Driven entrepreneurs concentrate on a vision and do not waver in their resolve.

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Believe in Yourself.

Having a winning mentality is a life lesson from sports to be used in all aspects of life, regardless of the career you pursue.  You have to be able to visualize your success and believe you will achieve it. Vision is an essential trait in business, and self-confidence is the necessary fuel that drives that vision forward. If you aren’t “all in” with your mission, you’re going to have a difficult time inspiring anyone else.

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Trust Your Team.

No matter how much talent, discipline, and determination you can summon, you still can’t do it all yourself. Even the most famous sports stars know that they need to trust their fellow team members to throw them the best passes, protect them from tackles, and clear the way for them to score. You need to be able to place the same confidence in your team that you have in yourself. Resist micromanaging and instead, empower your team with tools that emphasize personal accountability. Promoting a company culture that encourages open communication and the sharing of ideas will help motivate others as you lead by example.

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The journey athletes make from rookie player to champion paints a perfect image of the long and challenging path to success as an entrepreneur. Often, it is an individual’s competitive spirit that will determine how close they’ll come to achieving their dream. Don’t spend your time fearing those edging up behind you. Use them as inspiration to work harder, do better, and get there first. After all, thinking like a winner is the first step to becoming one. Implement these life lessons from sports to achieve success.