Michael Schumacher retired from Formula 1 recently with seven World Championships to his credit, as arguably the most successful driver of all time. Inevitably his retirement produced a crop of articles trying to analyse the secrets of his success. Most conclude that it was due to superb driving skills, allied to a determination to succeed that left no stone unturned in the quest for race winning performance.

Excellent skills are not enough to guarantee success.

Those who worked closely with him at Ferrari say he loved racing and he lived racing. The fact that he loved to race seems obvious, but what do they mean when they say he lived racing? Their answers to this question are revealing because they suggest he was totally focused on enhancing his chances of success. Schumacher, more than any other driver, seems to have understood that no matter how much skill he employed in the car, it was the things that happened before and after each race that ensured his on-going success.

He worked hard to ensure he was as well prepared as possible, training harder than any other driver to ensure he was fitter than they were. He spent hours with his engineers studying technical data to see where he could go faster, and time with the team principals discussing race strategy.

More importantly he recognised that winning races is a team event and that each member of the team must play their part to ensure success. Instilling in every member of the organisation the notion that what they did mattered, just as much as his driving ability, if he was to win races consistently. Building relationships with everyone in the team from the most senior managers to the lowliest mechanic was part of his strategy for maximising his potential to win.

As a result he won more races and championships than anyone before, including many he really shouldn't have won. Even when he was supposed to be taking a break, Ferrari report that he would be on the telephone checking on progress or asking them to let him join a test session he wasn't scheduled to drive in. Racing and winning seems to have been the total focus of his life, that’s what they mean when they say he lived racing.

Are you Living Sales^™?

So what has any of this to do with selling? Quite simply, if we want to maximise our chances of sales success we need to pay attention to everything that can impact on the sale. We may have excellent selling skills and enjoy sales calls with our customers but if we aren't paying attention to all the things outside the sales calls that ensure our continued success, we will never maximise the volume of business we can sell.

Selling is a team effort and even a star salesperson will fail to win all the business they should if other members of the team aren't playing their part. Winning business consistently in a highly competitive environment requires every element of customer contact and service to be handled well. Everyone in the business needs to understand that what they do, or fail to do, can make the difference between success and failure.

This doesn't just apply to the people with customer contact; the people working behind the scenes, to produce the products or deliver the service, can have just as much impact on success. Michael Schumacher understood that the people in the factory, who never saw the cars race, played a huge part in his success. Someone failing to spot a mistake could lead to a breakdown on the track, while someone going the extra mile, working through the night to produce a solution to a problem, could ensure a race-winning car.

So no matter how skilled you are, or how much time you spend thinking about the strategy you need to adopt to win the business, if you fail to take the time and trouble to build relationships with people within your own organisation, who can help you to deliver excellent service to your customers, you may find you lose the business because they fail to play their part.

So why not take some time right now, to consider all the factors than can influence the outcome of the sale you are currently progressing, and list the actions you need to take to address them. It could put you on the fast track to sales success and ensure you begin 2007 in pole position.

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