#he uses it as a dartboard for accuracy practice

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what if blade also visited jarilo vi for some reason, saw dan heng's wanted poster, and snatched it off the wall to take back with him to wherever the stellaron hunters' base is?

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WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT/FEDERATION MAGAZINE: OCTOBER 1998

REGAL STEPS TO THE LINE FOR PERFECTION 

By Kevin Kelly

Stroll into any English pub and you are sure to find a dartboard. For anyone who has ever played, it’s a challenging game. Trying to throw the dart with any degree of accuracy takes years of practice. And then somebody arrives with his own darts who seems to be a little sharper, more professional in appearance. All his throws are bulls-eyes. He can’t miss. He doesn’t know how to miss…

When Steven Regal entered the world Wrestling Federation, the game changed. A man who makes no mistakes has stepped to the line, ready to shoot. For his debut on Raw, the locker rooms–usually a hotbed of activity–were silent. Collectively, the Federation Superstars watched in awe. A true craftsman was at work. He systematically destroyed Darren Drozdov and in the process sent a message to the entire organization. 

While Regal was bludgeoning the former Denver Bronco, however, there was one man who didn’t even glance toward the monitor. For him, there was no need to. He’d seen Regal perform thousands of times and was well aware of his incredible skill. That man is Stone Cold Steve Austin. With the wrestling business being such a small world, it’s no surprise that Austin knows Regal quite well. You don’t have to know him to appreciate him, however. 

Just look at the artistry with which the Liverpool, England, native plies his trade. Steven Regal doesn’t need closed fists to batter opponents. He has forearms that have been known to crush jaws. Regal never uses chairs to main his foes. He has a repertoire of submission holds that are torturous and inescapable. While respectful of the rules generally, he hardly “kills with kindness.”

For wrestling aficionados, it seems that Steven Regal has been around the game forever. While into his fourteenth year as a professional,  he is just 30 years old. Regal began his career at the age of 16, wrestling in carnival-like shows along the seacoast of England. It was a rough way to break into the business because he had to worry not only about winning, but also about survival. 

If traveling and wrestling in 20 or so shows a week wasn’t difficult enough for a 16-year-old rookie, he had to watch his back constantly. The cutthroat atmosphere that existed with everybody trying to make names for themselves brought about some desperate acts from men who simply wanted to escape the unbearable conditions. But this lawless atmosphere may have prepared him for what would be his ultimate goal–competing in the World Wrestling Federation and making a run at the Federation Championship. 

The top contenders for that title have been through the wars of Federation competition and have survived. It’s a vindictive era and the action has never been more physical. On the roster, there are at least a dozen superstars over six feet, six inches tall and weighing 300 pounds or more. Regal is deceptively tall six feet four inches. Thanks to a dog-eat-dog environment, real friendships are rare and partnerships can tear apart in a split second. That’s just fine with the quiet, low-key star who has battled the odds alone for more than a decade and a half. 

The five years Regal spent at World Championship Wrestling did not deter him from his ultimate goal, which was always to become the World Wrestling Federation Champion. In fact, it made him even more determined. Regal’s resume is eerily reflective of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s. Will Regal be able to match the success of Stone Cold? A tall order indeed. Austin is the single biggest phenomenon in the history of the wrestling business. But, that’s fine. Regal would simply be satisfied with the Federation Championship. 

Steven Regal has an enormous challenge ahead of him. He must fight through the ranks of the most athletic Federation roster of all time in order for an opportunity at the Rattlesnake. If and when he gets there, he will battle a man who knows him inside and out. A former traveling companion of Regal’s, Stone Cold knows what makes this man tick, but he most certainly also knows that inside there beats the heart of a champion. 

While Regal has obstacles to overcome, he has fought through tremendous odds before. The brutal, backstabbing circuit in England he was reared in professionally has prepared him for what will be the fight of his life in the World Wrestling Federation. Despite championship caliber skill, he knows that every opponent he faces here can compete with him. Regal will look to wear down and frustrate enemies with his impeccable technical precision and super-human stamina. 

Regal also steps to the line knowing that any bulls-eye he throws can be equaled. But he has the ability to keep throwing bulls-eyes time after time. He simply doesn’t miss. Then again, Steve Regal cant afford to miss if he wants to achieve his goal. Chances are, he will never miss again.

[shenzhenblog]

Your Sales Forecast Is Broken, But You Can Still Fix It

Selling without understanding your sales funnel is like driving to an unknown location without a GPS or a map.

Selling without understanding your sales funnel is like driving to an unknown location without a GPS. You may reach your destination with an outdated map, but if you do, you probably won’t make it on time or under budget.

Sales funnel forecasting can help entrepreneurs understand what they do well, where they could improve, and how to optimize their operations for growth. Without that information, you may as well use a dartboard to plan for the quarters to come.

Unfortunately for many growing businesses, a dartboard might be an improvement. The 2018 Sales Operations Optimization Study from CSO Insights found that 35.6 percent of surveyed companies used casual or subjective approaches to sales forecasting. The same study discovered that formal and structured forecasts correlated with a 12.6 percent increase in win rates. Consider salespeople’s natural optimism in the face of more realistic projections, and it’s easy to see why accurate forecasts are so rare.

Despite the challenges, entrepreneurs should prioritize accurate sales funnel forecasting. Clearer projections empower them to make smarter decisions and pursue sales funnel opportunities they might otherwise not see.

Roadblocks to Better Sales Forecasting

Sales leaders and CEOs would love informed insights about their companies’ sales funnel forecasts. Sadly, a variety of obstacles stand between them and the accuracy they crave.

According to CSO Insights’ research, 47 percent of salespeople are too subjective in their evaluation of close possibilities. Even with hard data in front of them, salespeople tend to overestimate their ability to push leads through the sales funnel.

Not all the fault rests with salespeople, however. The same study found that non-predictive historical data (36.3 percent), inaccurate data (32.2 percent), and limited technological resources (24.6 percent) hamper companies’ forecasting abilities. Managers shoulder some of the blame themselves, as 19.6 percent of businesses have no formal sales methodology.

What will it take to fix sales funnel forecasting? Salespeople probably won’t stop overestimating their charm anytime soon. That’s not terrible news; optimistic salespeople tend to outperform their peers. Still, growing companies need a strong sense of their sales funnel to plan for the future — and it all begins with the right tools.

Where Sales Forecasting Tools Make a Difference

Before trying to predict your sales funnel for the next 10 years, stop to think about the purpose of the exercise. Forecasting sales for a long span may provide results too broad to be useful, while forecasting too little of the sales funnel may be more trouble than it’s worth. Pick an area where better data will lead to specific, actionable insights.

Once you know where you should focus in your sales funnel, turn your attention toward the methods that will lead to more accurate information:

1. Review old files, and collect new data.

Stock market experts love to remind investors that past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. When it comes to your sales funnel, however, past data provides an excellent starting point.

Gather information from years (or months) prior, and look at the crests and valleys of your sales funnel. What led to the good times? What made the downturns so rough? What kind of information would have helped you take advantage of more opportunities and avoid pitfalls?

You might not be able to predict every market shift, but you can use internal data to see which way the wind is blowing. Mixmax, a Gmail-based productivity application, recommends that businesses gather more specific data points (like whether prospects opened emails and the number of follow-ups required before a close) to create accurate forecasts. People should also check the amount of time they spend in meetings or on various sales activities, like administrative recordkeeping, to calculate more accurate timelines.

2. Define the process and metrics.

Anyone can draft a sales forecast based on instinct. Avoid subjective forecasts with random odds of success by designing a process that uses a set of predetermined metrics.

HubSpot advises businesses to follow a documented, structured sales procedure. While rogue reps may not appreciate following a system, replicable processes allow leaders to predict sales funnel shifts with greater accuracy. A team of 10 salespeople with 10 different closing processes can’t accurately assess the likelihood of a future deal closing. A team with a defined closing strategy, on the other hand, can predict closing success with a high degree of accuracy.

Don’t just set the process; refine it as you go. When salespeople fail to meet expectations, determine why and adapt. You may not be able to create a seamless sales funnel, but you can develop one that reflects reality.

3. Account for external factors.

Analytics company Prevedere warns that a variety of uncontrollable factors can influence sales forecasts. Consumers may suddenly decide they hate your industry. Economic shifts may push people toward luxury options or strip their ability to afford your products. Hurricanes may wipe out your vendors, leaving you without a supply. New legislation, changes in competition, and other factors can all throw wrenches in a sales funnel.

You can’t predict the unexpected, but you can build in wiggle room to keep your forecast on the right track. Expect to see minor downturns and booms every quarter, with major events impacting your industry every year or two. Look at past data to see how your company responded to crises in previous years, and consider ways to mitigate those troubles in the future.

Even the most rigorous sales forecasts are subject to the whims of the larger world. That said, smart entrepreneurs can keep their sales funnels flowing by improving their projections and accounting for relevant factors. Keep these tips in mind to create a sales forecast that will allow your company to accurately anticipate sales — and revenue.

Originally posted on Forbes.

Rhett Power

Rhett Power is Best-Selling Author, Executive Coach, Columnist at Forbes, Inc. & Success. Rhett Power co-founded Wild Creations in 2007 and quickly built the startup toy company into the 2010 Fastest Growing Business in South Carolina. Wild Creations was named a Blue Ribbon Top 75 US Company by the US Chamber of Commerce and named as one of Inc. Magazine’s 500 Fastest Growing US Companies two years in a row. He and his team have won over 40 national awards for their innovative toys. He served in the US Peace Corps and is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. He now has a rapidly growing coaching and consulting practice based in Washington DC.

Your Sales Forecast Is Broken, But You Can Still Fix It was originally published on Shenzhen Blog