Kristina Prichard’s earliest coaching came from her parents.

Dress for success.

You can do anything if you set your mind to it.

But you’ve got to work hard for what you want.

Growing up in Lubbock, TX, Kristina would often ride with her dad, the manager of a cable TV company, as he visited office to office to check on things. She noted his work ethic, his demeanor, and his commitment to his company. The truth is, through both her parent’s actions and words, she was already suiting herself up for future success.

“My parents were the type that wanted their kids to have some grit in them. We had elderly neighbors with three large dogs who couldn’t mow their yard. As kids, we’d clean up after the dogs and push mow their yard all the time, and my parents would give us either a quarter or a pack of gum,” Kristina recalls. “That taught us not just the idea of helping your neighbor, but also a strong work ethic. It was just woven into me. You gotta work hard for what you want.”

Her hard work is directly tied to her elite preparation tactics. We’ve heard the coach speak before: “proper practice prevents poor performance.” Or as Vince Lombardi once put it, “practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” Kristina Prichard, as exemplified by her mentors, and by her own impact on younger reps today, embodies the art of preparation and the act of suiting up every day.

Kristina Suited Up for Sports at an early age.

The era in which Kristina was growing up in Lubbock is considered a golden sports era for the college town. At nearby Texas Tech University in 1993, the women’s basketball team (led by star Sheryl Swoops and head coach Marsha Sharp) was tearing through the competition on its way to an unexpected National Championship. As a young female with big dreams, that team (along with a number of youth sports coaches) inspired her to continue to push forward.

“I just remember the town going nuts. Watching Sheryl Swoops, she was one of the first female athletes in the WNBA,” Kristina said. “I’m not normally ‘pro-female hear me roar,’ but you have a female coach excelling, Swoops dominating, as a young athlete at the time it was empowering and inspiring. Like breaking the glass ceiling, you can reach that level, too.”

Kristina Suits Up: A Superstar Account Representative Coaches Us Up on Preparation.

Ironically, Kristina’s knack for prep work doesn’t come directly from a mentor’s words of wisdom or something instilled in her from her parents. It comes from paranoia.

“It kind of starts for me out of fear. I never want to be in front of a client and not be prepared. I don’t want to have the fumble around with an answer or have to call them back,” Kristina said.

So, she does her homework. Lots of it. Here’s three tips.

1. She brings more than she needs to the proposal meeting.

“If I’m meeting two people, I bring four packets of information. Often, they’ll pull in an IT person or a C-level person. I want them to have the information to go through the presentation… and of course, I need a copy just so I’m totally prepared.”

2. She’s REALLY big into recommendation letters.

This, of course, takes intense preparation. Here’s an example: Recently Kristina was calling on a construction business. Beforehand, she went to their website, and saw multiple schools on their website that they had done work for (some of which were Datamax clients). Kristina made sure to get reference letters from those schools to use in the initial meeting.

“When I go into that meeting and they see those letters, they go ‘Oh, we did some work on their junior high recently,’ it’s like a light bulb goes off. If I hadn’t gone to their website, I would have never known.”

In that same vein, she also researches a company’s board of directors to see if there might be an existing Datamax customer on the list. Again, breeding familiarity goes a long way, but takes additional prep time.

3. She’s all about the right attire, for the right contact.

Dress for success, sure. But also dress strategically.

“Dressing for success was taught to me at an early age. If you dress professionally, you’re going to feel more confident in your presentations to your client,” Kristina says.

Even so, she explains, it’s important to be a chameleon. If she’s meeting with a plumber or a more rural customer, she might dress down to create a more comfortable environment for whomever she’s meeting with.

Kristina Coaches ‘em Up in Little Rock.

Kristina remembers the tenured reps that came before her. Their impact was huge, so it’s only natural to pay it forward. The newer reps in Arkansas usually get Kristina’s cell phone number pretty quickly. She encourages them to never hesitate to call. She also rides along with these reps when a manager isn’t available.

“It really is my natural instinct to help,” Kristina says. “I’m a bit of a mama bear to these newer reps. I remember the reps who came before me, they were a wealth of information. It’s important for me to be that same resource for the next generation.”

Set your mind to it. Admit it’s going to be hard work to get there. And then suit up and get moving.