We are constantly examining high performers, whether it’s individuals or organizations. We study what they do, thinking if we do the same things we can be high performers as well.
We examine the GTM strategies of organizations that have scaled to unicorn status, convinced that if we do the same, we can scale like they did. We tear apart everything they are doing, copying and adapting it to our own organizations.
We do the same with our tools, technologies, programs, processes and training. A company has gotten phenomenal results from implementing a specific training program, or a new technology tool, or a methodology. We think, “If it worked for them, it should work for us!”
We hold up our best performers as models. “These are their activity levels, these are the things they are doing that make them successful. Do more of what they do!”
But then reality comes crashing in. We may have copied their GTM strategies, but they aren’t working. We aren’t scaling the way that unicorn did. Or we bought the same training program as another high performing organization, but it’s not working, we’ve wasted time and money. Or those who show how powerful their CRM is in helping drive performance, yet ours is full of garbage.
We see it constantly, compare two organizations with similar offerings, GTM strategies, processes, tools, training, programs and everything else. There are vast differences in performance. Or compare our top performers with others in the organization. They are all selling the same things, have the same tools, technology, but the performance is wildly different.
How can two organizations doing similar things have such widely varying performance? How can sellers in the same organization, with access to the very same things have such wildly varying performance.
It turns out, the real differences in performance is something that can’t be bought. It’s something that can’t be copied.
What actually drives performance, organizationally and individually, is the mindsets and behaviors of those top performers. All the things that we try to copy are just the tools they use to do their jobs.
I go deeply into these mindsets and behaviors in my upcoming book, Is “Good Enough” Good Enough? But here’s what makes them different:
Mindset is foundational. High performing people and organizations aren’t satisfied with getting by, doing good enough, making quota. They are driven to achieve their full potential. For example, as we look at the tariff turmoil, many organizations are just trying to manage through, doing the best they can to hit their revenue goals. Several of my high performing clients see this as an opportunity to transform, change, and in the process seize share.
Is your/your organization’s mindset focused on getting by, or achieving it’s full potential.
Behaviors are how we start executing on our dreams and goals. Key behaviors we see are:
Curiosity is a daily practice. It’s not just aimless, but focused. How do we better understand our customers’ challenges? How do we help them through their change process? How do we improve our own organization and what we do? It’s exploring more deeply, challenging assumptions, learning and adapting. And when we don’t know, the curious will figure it out.
Continual learning and improvement. Our worlds are constantly changing. We cannot remain stuck in what we have always done. We have to learn and change. “Why did we win, why did we lose? What is changing in our markets, how do we stay ahead of it? How do we leverage AI most impactfully?” If we aren’t continually getting better, we fall behind.
Comfort with ambiguity and complexity. As much as we may want to. As much as our processes/workflows are depicted as linear and step by step, the real world doesn’t follow the structure of our models. High performers adapt those models to fit the current circumstance or situation. And high performers help their customers navigate this ambiguity and complexity.
Obsessive customer focus. High performers obsess over their customers. They dive deeply into understanding them and their businesses. They want to understand how their customers think. They want to see their customers succeed and grow as a result of their work with the customers. And high performing leaders recognize their people are their customers and are focused on their success.
Disciplined execution. High performers do the important things consistently. They do the dull, boring things consistently. They know they have to do the whole job, not just the parts they like.
Accountability. The top performers don’t make excuses. It’s not our bad products, our pricing, or the crazy customers. Even if our products may not be the best, or our pricing is higher than others, top performers deal with it, executing their strategies. And if they lose, they examine themselves trying to understand what they could do differently.
Deep caring. I’ve put this last because it’s an aspect of all the others. Top performers care about their customers and their success. Leaders care about their people and their success. And top performers care about themselves. Are they living up to their potential, stretching to achieve what they could? They never settle.
When we look at other organizations, benchmarking them, understanding their best practices, we tend to focus on what we can see; their GTM strategies, structures, processes, training, programs, tools and technology. And we try to copy and adapt that which we can see.
These mindsets and behaviors are invisible. But this is how they think and behave. And it’s these that make all the difference!
We don’t gain much, if anything, by copying what we see them doing. Instead, we need to look at how they think. What are the mindsets and behaviors that drive the success, how do we develop these within ourselves and our people?
Afterword: Is “Good Enough” Good Enough, hits the shelves in mid December. It goes deeply into these issues, providing a practical guide in how you might adapt these mindsets and behaviors yourself. These are all “learnable” and should be part of your path to sales excellence.
Afterword: I continue to be astounded by the quality of these AI driven discussions. This conversation gets to the core issues in the post, and how they help us understand what I’m trying to say. It’s excellent! Enjoy!
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