“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” This quote—from Malcolm Gladwell—sums up what makes every Olympic athlete so great.

We all know that getting to the top of any sport—or any profession—requires learning and practicing new skills, refining our approach, focusing on one aspect of our performance, and getting better and better each day. We also know that setbacks are inevitable on the path to success. We're in it to win, but we’ll occasionally get sick, sprain an ankle, lose our coach, or face a new competitor. Sometimes we’ll be so close we can taste the "win." We’ll see the finish line but run out of steam, and someone else will zoom ahead. We’ll be defeated and deflated. But not for long ... at least not if we keep practicing.

The Practice Payoff

Everyone can access greatness and win, but it takes practice. And salespeople don’t like to practice.

Sure, we know that to be at the top of our game, we need to practice new skills, practice presentations, practice writing, practice speaking. But we resist practice, even with proof right in front of us. Why? We get paid to sell. Practice time is on our own dime. And who has extra time just floating around?

Salespeople are not patient people. We want information—relevant information—now. Not tomorrow or the next day. We want it quickly and magically. We’d prefer to put our iPhones (loaded with critical sales training and wisdom) under our pillows and awaken with essential sales content embedded in our brains. Osmosis would be such a low-impact, low-energy, easy way to master new sales skills …

… Snap out of it. That’s not how it works, and we all know it. The only way to master essential selling skills, develop expertise, and impact sales productivity is to practice. Yes, I mean hands-on, upright, out-loud practice. Some sales reps tell me they “forgot” to practice. No, they didn’t forget. They just decided not to remember. There’s a difference.

Sales reps in the top 10 percent operate differently. These super-sales achievers determine the critical, deal-breaking skills needed for sales success. Then they narrow their focus—relentlessly learning and honing those new sales skills by committing to daily practice. Yes, daily practice. They make the time, so they win the deals.

Coach Your Team to Change the Game

Just as Olympians need great coaches; salespeople need great sales leaders who push them to practice and hone their skills.

Create opportunities for your sales team to learn and practice new skills. Ask what they need and then help them get it. Recognize their wins. Their success is your success. There's a perception that salespeople don't need recognition—that getting a big commission is enough. This couldn't be further from the truth.

Remember that everyone can access greatness. Get your sales reps to focus on specific selling skills and make practice a requirement. Practice becomes their game-changing, compelling sales event. Practice is your sales organization’s future.

After all, practice makes permanent.

Joanne Black is America’s leading authority on referral selling—the only business-development strategy proven to convert prospects into clients more than 50 percent of the time. She is a member of the National Speakers Association and author of NO MORE COLD CALLING™: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust and Pick Up the Damn Phone!: How People, Not Technology, Seal the Deal. To learn more, visit www.NoMoreColdCalling.com. You can also follow Joanne on Google+ or Twitter @ReferralSales, or connect on LinkedIn and Facebook.