best practices.
If best practices are your goal, the most that will get you is mediocrity.
Best practices are the lowest common denominator in business success.
A mere stepping stone, to where top producers and growing companies wish to go.
If you seek competitive advantage, disproportionate market share or to become the “obvious choice” where buyers have many options, you must move far beyond common generic practices.
Best practice advice you can bank on
If the herd is heading in one direction, head in another.
You are not a trained seal. If the herd wants to ignore common sense, you should not do so. If the herd is clinging to something that worked in the past, you should not do so.
Top producers and leading companies do not do what everyone else does.
It has always been fascinating to me that top producing reps within companies, typically do not conform to sales methods taught by their employers.
Top producers do not rise to be best by following the rest.
Best practice guidelines should not be ignored, but…
You should not disregard what has worked for others. Be aware of it. Consider it. But appreciate that these are not general truths.
You want to adopt the best method to accomplish your specific objectives given your capabilities and competitive environment
Best practice example that drives me crazy.
Many companies and reps seem to think that “more activity” is key to sales success. Rather than focus on quality or improving their skill sets and behaviors, they adopt the herd mentality of more dials, more emails, more pitches.
In my experience, the exact opposite is true. The top reps do not make the most dials. Ever. Companies that are growing market share and margins do not worship activity and ignore focus and improving sales behaviors. They don’t.
Reps and companies with a “more activity” mindset tend to ignore or give little consideration to improving targeting or sales behaviors that have a much bigger impact on achieving their goal.
Best practice model or…
Instead of adopting a generic best practice model, think of adopting a your practice model. Learn what has worked for others but you want to move beyond lowest common denominator success.
Those who become the obvious choice among many options model leaders and top producers within and outside of their industry. They model the best, not the rest. Combine winning ideas and behaviors such that your practices are the best practice for you.
