The Best Focus On Getting Better

I just had something very interesting happen. I finished up a sales training class for a client I have worked with for the past 12 years and after the class, several of these attendees thanked me very much and said they had taken pages of notes and learned some very valuable ideas. Then, later in the evening, I attended their annual sales awards dinner, and again several folks told me the session that day had been wonderful and two of them actually told me that, through various programs I had delivered for their company, they had learned some “career-changing” ideas. I was extremely flattered and glad to know I had helped, but what happened next was career-changing for me!

As the CEO stood at the front of the room and announced the company’s top salespeople and managers I was amazed to see that most of them were the very same individuals that had thanked me for the workshop. In other words, the most successful people were also the ones who wanted to learn the most, even though many of them had been in the field for 20 years or longer.

Earlier in the day as I was teaching the workshop I had noticed that many of the “older” salespeople were furiously taking notes and nodding in agreement every time I covered a particularly important point. They were also the most eager to ask questions and engage in the workshops and group discussions. However, I also noticed that several of the “jokesters” took few notes, rarely participated in the discussions, and did not ask a single question. Not surprisingly I did not see any of them win an award, but later at the bar I did hear many of them complaining about the comp plan, that their products were priced too high and that their competitors were “buying” contracts with lavish presents and dinners with purchasing agents.

 The mediocre thought they already knew it all, the best were eager to learn more.

The mediocre were resentful, the best were grateful.

The mediocre saw problems, the best saw opportunities.

The mediocre complained, the best succeed in the same arena.

I might have spent the day teaching, but I learned just as much as they did, well, at least the best of them.