All kids who are passionate about sports dream of competing in the Olympics or winning the Super Bowl, World Series, or Stanley Cup. But few ever get that opportunity. Those who do commit themselves to a disciplined life of practice and training, understanding that raw talent is not the only ingredient for success.

The same holds true in the business arena. The world is full of would-be sales superstars who want to be a top producer in the company and make a lot of money. The problem is, many salespeople spend their time hoping for the big account to come through, waiting for new assigned accounts to come their way, and praying that economic conditions improve, rather than doing what needs to be done on a daily basis.

Just as there are no guarantees for Olympic glory, there are no guarantees for triumphing in sales. However, there are action steps that you can implement to greatly improve your odds for success:

• Focus on fundamentals and execution. There’s an old saying, “If you spend all your time watching the scoreboard, the ball’s going to hit you in the face.” Too often in sales, account executives and their managers become fixated on their sales sheets (scoreboard). If they practiced the sales fundamentals and executed their sales strategy instead, the scoreboard would take care of itself.

• View sales as a marathon. If sales were an Olympic sport, it would be a marathon, not a 100-yard dash. The most successful salespeople take a long-term focus on making their career, not just making their month. You cannot manage your sales; you can only manage your time, your focus, your accounts, and your sales prospecting techniques. When you do those things effectively, the sales will take care of themselves.

• Practice the right techniques. To reach the top in sports, few things are more important than practicing the right techniques. The same is true in sales. Too often, salespeople attend a one-day session, leaving excited and fired up about all the new tools and sales techniques they’ve learned, only to return to their offices to do the same things the same way.

• Focus on your goals, not your obstacles. Whether you are going for Olympic gold or playing for “salesperson of the month,” there will always be obstacles. Typically, the bigger the goal, the greater the obstacles. Recognize the obstacles, but don’t let them stop you.

— Michael Guld, president of the Guld Resource Group (guldresource.com)

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