Years ago, NBA star Allen Iverson sat down with reporters after the Philadelphia 76ers had been eliminated from the playoffs. A reporter asked him about missing a recent practice session, and the question sparked one of the most famous moments in sports media history.

Iverson leaned forward and said, almost in disbelief: 

“Practice?" 

Then he kept repeating the word over and over. 

His rant went viral.  

His point was that people were questioning his commitment because of a missed practice when he was out there playing his heart out in the game.

And to be fair, Iverson was a fantastic player. 

But everyone needs practice. 

In sales there's a strange relationship with practice. We do a fair amount of advanced learning. 

But when it comes to actually practicing conversations, that's different. 

Practicing on real people feels risky.

Who wants to "burn" a great prospect?

You don't want to experiment in front of someone whose business you actually want.

So, people skip the practice and go straight to the real conversation.

Over the years Richard and I have encouraged people: practice your asks! No matter how awkward, fail forward. 

Recently, I came across a tool called Sales Coach Pro that lets you practice sales conversations with AI that acts like a real prospect. 

It pushes back. It raises objections. 

It challenges what you say. After the conversation it gives feedback.

You can hear a lot of No's without risking a real opportunity. Then when you are going for no in real conversations, you are not guessing. 

Practice will not make you perfect. But practice can make you prepared.