The insidious war between good and great

ANAGERS, BUSINESS OWNSNS, ANd salespeople who want to succeed... bewaret There is an insidious war going on. It is the war between good and great.

Teacher/Parent: "Johnnv. how muchis2+2?"

Johnny: "5."

Teacher: "Wonderful creativitv. Johnny!"

There will always be parents, teachers and, later, bosses and coworkers who will make excuses for the non-performer. (As I recenly told my 16-year-old son, "I just spent the day with a guy whose father never told him he was full of it when he made excuses." What's wrong with, "No, I'm sorry, Johnny. That's wrong."?)

I've been in sales for over 40 years. I've worked with and trained hundreds of salespeople and only 5Vo of them just couldn't sell. They just did not

Good

Shows up just late or just in time. (Always nas an excuse.)

Dresses loose.

have the personality to make up for it. Let's flip that around. Of the salespeople I've seen fail, l00%o of them have one thing in common: they don't work hard enough. This is not the insidious part.

We are not talking about the people who just can't do it. We are talking about the people who can sell, butjasr don't want to put in the effort to be great. These salespeople are not driven. They are in sales because they want to hide. They don't want to put in an honest 40 in a production job (where they belong). They want to come out and fake it just enough to be left alone. These are the same salespeople who complain about the pro athlete who takes it easy after signing the big contract! These are the people we are waging war against. They are the defenders of good.

What are the signs of good vs. great?

Great

Shows up early. ("lf you're not early, you're not on time" - Lombardi.)

Dresses right. (Men: Shirt with a collar, shoes with a shine, pants with a crease. No lint, no wrinkles. Ladies: Like you're going to church-just not Easter High Mass. Not to the club.)

One of the worst things I see in sales organizations is the lack of prospecting for new business. Many sellers are waiting around for someone to quit or get fired so they can be given those accounts. You can tell these salespeople because they will be the ones who complain most bitterly about favoritism.

So why is the war insidious?

Because great is the new good. If you are a manager who has salespeople clinging to the past and blaming change on you, they will do their best to sell you (if they would only take this much energy to sell their customers!) that they are doing a great job.They will try to make you feel that their 35-hour effort is great.They will do their best to convince you they need to spend 807o of their time with their three best customers when they should spend 307o of their time with their top three and the rest of their time looking for new business. If the defenders of good win, the defenders of great lose.

But you and I know that a good job is not going to get it done any more. The buggy was good. The car was great. TV was good. HD is great. Milk is good. A milkshake is great. The guy before you did a good job. Your boss is paying you to do a great job.

Bitches about meetings (out loud).

Needs to be pushed by boss.

Makes excuses.

Comfortable.

Hates change.

Plays politics.

Doesn't pick up on first or second ring.

Hard to find.

Tries to make it your problem. (lt's theirs.)

Tries to make you feel guilty.

Waits for accounts.

Bitches about meetings (inside). Attends, participates,

Pushes boss.

Takes responsibility.

Driven, crazed, motivated.

Makes change happen.

Works

Picks up.

Hard to hide from. (Finds you-and his/her customers.)

Looks for the solution in him/herself.

Makes you feel happy, proud.

Finds accounts.

Sales excellence is the war for greatness. 2 + 2 will never equal 5.

James Olsen Reality Sales Training

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