I once asked a group of sales coaches what is required to have achievement at high levels. Some of the answers I received were skill, instruction, and knowledge. I was also told that in order to have achievement at high levels we must persistently apply things we learn develop skill. In order to develop a skill at high levels there has to be an element of determined practice.

Many of us as took great pleasure last summer watching Michael Phelps win 8 gold medals. We believed the media when it told us it was because he was a “freak of nature” and that it was his innate ability that led him to greatness. We believe these statements because it suggests greatness may be out of reach for normal people.

I’m not suggesting we all become great swimmers. What I am suggesting is that there is a route to greatness in each of us.

On average Michael Phelps will train 5 hours a day 7 days a week. That is 35 hours of training each week. The average work week is 40 hours. This gives us roughly the same amount of time that Michael Phelps has to become world class in our work related roles. Do not make the mistake of saying I don’t have 5 hours a day. Someone is paying you 8 hours a day to become world class.

We know we have to practice, we know we have to work. Do some people get more out of their 40 hours a week? The answer is yes, because of their determined practice. Here are 5 Keys to Determined Practice to help you get the most out of your 40 hour work week.

1. Your practice has to have a goal orientation. Let’s look at this in regard to golf. You may say your goal orientation is to hit 300 balls. This will help me get better, but can I do more than that? Breaking it down into component parts your goal may be to work your short game, and with that in mind you may want to hit 300 balls with your 8 iron with the goal of getting 80% of those within 20 feet of the pin. When you have goal orientation break things down into their component parts. Work on that component with the goal in mind.

2. Repetition – Just having the goal orientation is not enough, you have to hit the 300 balls numerous times. You have to put in the quantity as well as quality.

Before we go on let’s look at how Griffin Hill at our coaching technology uniquely positioned to help people in determined practice as it relates to the first two steps. We know that the big problem sales people face is getting the close. So we took that big problem and broke it down into component parts. That component part is our 6 Step Sales Process.

We may say we want to get better at the Case Open Routine. There are 5 basic plays that will put the odds of success in your favor at this stage of the sales process. We can use these first two steps to break down each of the 5 plays and work on them separately and with the goal of having a perfected Case Open.

3. Feedback – It is important not to take feedback from a blind guide. You will get no value from feedback from a blind guy. Take feedback from an expert.

4. Composite – You need to be able to take components and put them together as a whole. If you are working on incremental improvement on your benefit play you now have to be able to put that in concert with the 5 plays of the Case Open Routine. You have to know how the pieces connect. It is not enough to practice making a layup for 10,000 hours only to get into a game and not know how to get a layup opportunity.

5. Persist - Persistence adherence to natural law brings about high achievement. It’s not enough to reminisce about the time you scored 15 points a week. You need to persist every day, every week to get those 15 points. You have to persist every day in order to achieve greatness.

The amount of determined practice will make a world of difference in the kinds of achievement that you can reach.