On a recent episode of The Sales Hunter Podcast, Mark sat down with Ty Bennett, author of Redefining High Performance, to unpack what real high performance looks like and the science behind it.
Rethinking High Performance
The image most people have of top performers—outworking, outlasting, and out-hustling everyone else—doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Ty Bennett’s research-driven approach challenges these assumptions, revealing the dangers of burnout and the limitations of sheer intensity.
“The highest performers, they don’t work harder. They work deeper. Deeper work is based in purpose.”
True high performance isn’t just about hitting a quota this quarter. It’s about sustaining results over the long term, staying energized, and avoiding the crash that comes from pushing too hard without purpose.
The Five Key Drivers of High Performance
Ty’s research identified five central drivers that separate top performers from the rest:
1. Preparation
Success starts long before go-time. High performers do their homework, rehearse, and anticipate challenges. The unseen hours spent preparing often determine who wins and who comes up short.
2. Consistency
Anyone can sprint, but the best perform at a high level week after week. Ty Bennett puts it this way: “Intensity is a great thing, but it often is so short-lived that it doesn’t really get you anywhere long term.” Daily prospecting, regular follow-ups, and tight routines lay the foundation for lasting results.
3. Motivation
While external motivation spikes can help in the short term, internal, intrinsic motivation is the engine that keeps top performers going. Leaders can support this by providing autonomy, building competency, and fostering team connection.
4. Systems and Planning
Beyond raw effort, high performers rely on systems that support their goals. Instead of gutting it out each day, they automate good habits and workflows to ensure nothing important slips through the cracks.
5. Connection
Performance isn’t a solo act. Cultivating strong relationships, both within the team and with customers, serves as a critical multiplier. As Ty Bennett states, “If people feel connected, they show up better. They put in more work. They try harder.”
The Consistency Gap
Sales culture often elevates the “intense closer” who swoops in at the end of the quarter to hit the number but neglects the importance of daily consistency.
Consistency was the number two driver in Ty’s research, but it doesn’t come easy. Human nature, distractions, reliance on short-lived motivation, and unaddressed fear all conspire to derail great intentions.
Building in routine processes, creating non-negotiable habits, and holding each other accountable are all ways to beat inconsistency.
The Three Barriers Holding Us Back
So if the playbook is clear, what gets in the way? Ty’s research uncovered three key barriers to high performance—all internal:
1. Fear of Failure
Unsurprisingly, fear tops the list. Whether it’s a reluctance to pick up the phone or hesitancy to take a risk, fear quietly sabotages potential.
2. Taking Criticism Personally
Feedback should help us get better, but when ego enters the picture, it’s easy to become defensive. This blocks learning, curiosity, and growth.
3. Comparison
Sales is competitive by nature, but constant comparison can sap confidence and create unhealthy rivalries. “Ultimately, we get in our own way,” Ty Bennett points out.
Leading High Performance Teams
For sales leaders, building a high-performance culture means more than just pushing for results. It starts with setting an example on preparation and fostering an environment where connection can thrive.
“Preparation is the easiest, lowest hanging fruit in that most people don’t do it,” says Ty Bennett. Creating team rituals around rehearsal, role play, and feedback can raise the baseline for everyone.
Cultivating connection in the team and with each individual serves as a performance multiplier and drives real engagement.
Lessons from the Ninja Gym
Beyond business, Ty draws on his experience owning the largest Ninja Warrior gym in the world where two of his sons are nationally ranked competitors. The lessons of preparation, adaptability, consistency, and facing fear play out daily in the gym as much as in sales.
High performance, wherever it appears, follows the same rules.
Take Responsibility and Redefine What’s Possible
High performers don’t blame circumstances, tools, or other people. The real barriers are internal, and so are the solutions.
Redefining high performance means going deeper, not just harder. It’s about daily habits, real connection, and a willingness to confront fear, accept feedback, and take ownership.
As Ty puts it: “If I look at what’s stopping me from reaching my full potential, it’s probably me more than anything else.”
For those ready to level up, that’s where true performance begins.
Mark Hunter :
What does high performance look like to you? Okay, come on. Define high performance. Now with me today, Ty Bennett, his new book, redefining High Performance. He’s going to break it all down for you. Why am I talking? The show begins right now.
Ty Bennett :
You’re listening to the Sales Hunter podcast with Mark Hunter, where the focus is to help you, as a salesman, sell with confidence and integrity. And now, here’s your host.
Mark Hunter :
When you think of high performance, what do you think of? With me today, Ty Bennett. And let me tell you something, his new book, but more importantly, all that he does to emphasize it. We got a lot to unpack. Ty, jump in.
Ty Bennett :
It’s so good to be with you. I appreciate it.
Mark Hunter :
It is. I mean, now for the audience, we got to go back because we go back, what, 12, 10 years? I don’t know, something like that.
Ty Bennett :
Yeah. And the beautiful thing is, you’ll remember we first met each other in Bogota, Colombia. That was. We were sharing the stage in Bogota, and then a week or two later for the same client in Santiago, Chile. And then we were like, we both live in America. Why don’t we hang out in America? So now it’s been awesome to watch your career see all of the value that you bring to this audience. Right? I mean, everything you’ve done in the sales space. So it’s just privileged to be here with you.
Mark Hunter :
Well, hey, it’s an honor to have you on the show because you have come out with this new book, Redefining High Performance. And it’s amazing what you do because you’ve got this little ninja background. Okay, maybe we’ll tease the audience with that a little bit, but talk to us. Redefining High Performance.
Ty Bennett :
Yeah. So this new book, it came out of a research study, so we decided to do a national research study, worked with a research firm out of Texas to look at high performance in Working America, and dove into every aspect. You know, what drives it, what stops it, how do you sustain high performance? What are some of the key mindsets? All of the pieces. That’s what the book lays out, is flushing out all that research. There’s. Based off the research, there’s five key drivers of high performance. There’s three main barriers. There’s three key mindsets that came out of it.
Ty Bennett :
So we can go in any direction around that. But we share, obviously in the book, but I share that with sales groups and leaders hoping to help them raise their level of performance. I think that for me, as somebody who’s always been pretty high performing, I had assumptions on what it took to do that and also recognizing that the assumptions that I had were the kind that I think most people have grown up with or tried to live with, is I just, if I outwork my competitor, if I work harder, longer, do a little bit more, I’m going to perform a little bit higher. And what we’re finding is the epidemic of burnout, that it’s just not sustainable. Right. And so relooking at it and redefining kind of what that looks like and basing it off of research on what are the highest performing people actually doing and what are they avoiding. That bringing some of those insights has been both insightful to our audience, but also to me personally.
Mark Hunter :
Okay, now, you’ve just thrown a lot of assumptions under the bus because the whole idea that you just work harder, work longer, you’re going to outwork the competition. And that’s what a lot of salespeople take, and that’s what a lot of sales managers expect of their salespeople. So it sounds like you popped the bubble with the research. Tell us we can breathe.
Ty Bennett :
The insight that came out, though, probably the one that hit me the hardest personally, is that the highest performing people, now, when we look at high performance, you have to look at what it is. It’s not just, can I hit my quota this quarter, but how do I sustain that? How do I continue to hit those quotas, hit that level, perform at the highest level on an ongoing basis without burning out, without killing myself off. The biggest piece of the research for me was that the highest performers, they don’t work harder. They were deeper. Deeper work is based in purpose. Deeper work has a sustainability factor. Deeper work doesn’t mean that you have to put in just necessarily longer hours. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not against hard work.
Ty Bennett :
I don’t think that any of it happens without putting in real effort. But we’re learning a lot about sustainability. We’re learning a lot about what it takes to be able to perform at that level over and over again. Take sleep, for example. I’m one who, if you were even go back to high school and ask me, like, you know, how often how much do you sleep? I’d go, I could sleep when I’m dead. Like, I just, I have stuff to do. I’m going to be okay. I’ve been that way my whole life.
Ty Bennett :
But also, I would work until I couldn’t. Right? Like, my wife used to hate going on vacation with me because the minute I stopped, my body stopped. I would. Like, we’d Go on a cruise and I would be sick in my cabin the entire time because I finally stopped. Right. And there’s nothing sustainable about that. You laugh because I think you probably relate.
Mark Hunter :
And so I can relate to that too well, because again, you’re right. You’re on a mission. You got to get this done, you know, sleep. That’s what you do when you die. I got. I got things to do. So. Okay, so you talked about deeper, you teased us with deeper.
Mark Hunter :
I want to run with that. What does that mean?
Ty Bennett :
So deep work, I think is based in sustainable efforts from a sales standpoint. Deep work means that you’re building real relationships. It’s not transactional. Deep work means that you have an understanding of purpose, what fuels you, why you’re doing what you’re doing. It’s not just showing up for the paycheck, it’s showing up in purpose because that’s meaningful and it comes across that way. Deep work means that you can create a plan and systems that can be sustaining and it’s not just based off of intensity, but you can create real consistency. I think, I mean, Daniel Pink has that great quote that we always overvalue intensity and undervalue consistency. Well, consistency comes out of a sense of purpose and understanding what you’re trying to accomplish.
Ty Bennett :
Intensity. I think intensity is a great thing, but it often is so short lived that it doesn’t really get you anywhere long term. I’ve watched too many people have an incredible short term run and then they just drop off, you know, everybody’s radar. Like, what happened to that guy? Why? You know, he was like the best salesperson for where’d he go, right? What? And that this is the sustainability aspect, I think is coming into play more and more. I don’t know. I think, you know, I mean, we could look at all the reasons, but Covid changed us as a human society and we recognize like there’s more to life than just work. And so how do we create a whole picture of I want to perform at a really high level, but I also want to have great personal relationships and I want to maintain my health. And like, how can we do all of that? Well, we have to go deeper in terms of the work that we’re trying to do and not just run as fast as we can because you can’t do that in every direction.
Mark Hunter :
Okay, I love it because you just killed a couple elephants that were in the room. Because so many salespeople, intensity, you know, they get down to two weeks, 11, 12 and 13 and a quarter and that’s when they’re absolutely intense. They’re going to try to close the quarter but then they burn themselves out. And weeks one, two and three, they sit back and relax because they’re just, they’re, they’re fried. They’re absolutely fried. You mentioned something, consistency, consistency, how does that come out in high performers?
Ty Bennett :
Well, consistency is tough. Like if we’re being real, consistency was the number two driver of high performance according to the research. Those who can show up on a regular basis doing those things that matter most, the things that move the needle. Right. So if that’s in a sales situation, that’s prospecting, that’s a daily prospecting. Like you’re going to consistently show up and do that and it’s a non negotiable. Those things are going to happen. If you can put some of those things in play, you’re building some compounding effect over time.
Ty Bennett :
Right. It’s not. I prospected 25 people yesterday and the rest of the week I’m probably not going to talk to anybody. Like that happens too much within any space. Sales especially. And so being able to put consistency in play, I think there’s a lot of factors that come into play in terms of why we’re not consistent. I mean, one, it’s just human nature. It’s hard to just show up consistently.
Ty Bennett :
Two, we get distracted super easily. Three, we’re too reliant on motivation. Right. Like when I get excited and you know, I know that if I hit this quota, this is what my paycheck’s going to be and so I’ve got a little bit of motivation. Well, sometimes that’s not going to be enough. And so how do you put systems in place to do that? And then four, we also deal with fear all the time. Right. As humans.
Ty Bennett :
And that on the flip side, fear of failure is actually the number one barrier to high performance. I kind of thought it was going to be like technology, you don’t have the right tools or some of those. But it was interesting in the research. All of the barriers and we can dive into it, they were all just internal barriers. We get in our own way, we are the biggest things we have to overcome and so we can flesh those out. But you know, fear comes into play in terms of how we show up on a regular basis. It stops us from following through when we want to or need to.
Mark Hunter :
So are you saying fear is number one?
Ty Bennett :
According to the research, it is the number one barrier to high performance.
Mark Hunter :
Okay, then you also said something else, that all the barriers all the problems were internally driven.
Ty Bennett :
So based off the research, the three biggest barriers all hit our ego, fear of failure, taking criticism personally, and comparison. So think about that. Like, because all of those could also be like, if you can push past fear, right? I mean, we all deal with fear and we could dive into that. But taking criticism personally, some people also call that feedback, which is a good thing. But when it hits your ego, then it feels like criticism and we get defensive and we stop learning, we stop growing. We’re not curious about it. It doesn’t make us better. And then we compare ourselves.
Ty Bennett :
And in a sales situation, this is happening all the time. Right. We’re constantly looking at. Because we’re also pitted against each other, which is positive in many ways and not positive in other ways. But ultimately, yeah, we get in our own way. If I look at what’s stopping me from reaching my full potential, it’s probably me more than anything else. It’s not the situation. It’s not other people.
Ty Bennett :
It’s not the scenario. It’s not the tools or lack of tools. It’s me.
Mark Hunter :
Yeah, but that means you have. You can’t blame somebody else.
Ty Bennett :
You have to take responsibility.
Mark Hunter :
Wow, we got to take take responsibility. It’s always somebody else’s fault. As to why I didn’t close this sale, I want to spin this around a little bit. Let’s talk about high performance teams. You’re a sales leader, you’re a sales manager. You’re listening to this podcast. How do you craft that high performance team?
Ty Bennett :
So if I look at the drivers of high performance, according to our research, there are five. The first one is preparation. That’s in a sales scenario. This is so important. Right. What we don’t do often is spend the work in the unseen hours preparing for those key conversations, preparing for the setup of that, and often with audiences. What I’ll do is. Because preparation is not exciting to talk about is what I.
Ty Bennett :
The. The perspective I want to take, I like to take is to think about the cost of it. What does the lack of preparation cost you? Because sometimes it’s a huge cost. Right. If we don’t prepare for that key presentation, we don’t win that business. There’s a huge cost to that. And so putting in some of the work. So preparation is number one.
Ty Bennett :
Consistency was number two. We talked a little bit about that. So as a sales leader, how do I, one, put in the practice of preparation beforehand? Role playing, preparing, doing research before some of those things so that we can win in those moments that matter. Number two, how do I put in systems that create consistency within my teams and hold each other accountable? That’s hard, right? Because people push against it. Number three was motivation. And I know that motivation, I just mentioned it can be short term, but from a leadership standpoint, there’s actually a lot of research that shows you can’t motivate somebody, but you can create the situation where intrinsic motivation can flourish. So the biggest research around that shows that there’s three components. Number one is autonomy, that you have some sense of ownership or control in your choice and how you move forward.
Ty Bennett :
Number two is competency. So can I, as a leader, help you to make sure you are competent, knowledgeable, and confident around what you’re trying to do? And number three is relatedness. This is the connection between the team and the purpose. So they feel like I have their back as a leader and they have a sense of connection and the team support. Those things matter in terms of their overall motivation.
Mark Hunter :
Wow, you. Yeah, you’ve unpacked a lot. As a sales leader, is there one that you have to gravitate to more than the other? I mean, how do you go after all of them at the same time? You can’t.
Ty Bennett :
You can’t fully. I would start with the. The fifth. Well, I would probably start with preparation. I think that’s the easiest, lowest hanging fruit in that most people don’t do it. Most people just don’t take the time to prepare in the ways that they should and if they would spend a little bit of time doing that. So within your team, can you develop a culture where role playing, practicing, getting feedback on your presentation skills, preparing for those individual meetings, doing a little bit of research so you know who you’re going to meet with before, and there’s some customization and tailoring for that person. That’s a pretty easy one.
Ty Bennett :
The other thing I would start look at is the fifth driver, according to the research, is connection. And within your team, can you create a culture of connection? Because connection becomes a multiplier. If people feel connected, they show up better. If people feel connected, they put in more work. If people feel connected, they try harder. All of those things multiply effort. And so as a leader, can you drive a better connection within the organization and with you as the leader? Because ultimately that becomes the relationship that typically has the biggest impact on overall employee engagement and satisfaction. And so those two is where I would start.
Mark Hunter :
Wow. Preparation, connection. Absolutely fascinating because again, connection, I see both internal, but also with customers. I mean, I mean, is that, is that, is that valid?
Ty Bennett :
There yeah, for sure.
Mark Hunter :
Yeah.
Ty Bennett :
And I. I’ve always been a big believer that business is about relationships. I think that, you know, if you look at business short term, if it’s not about relationships, it has to be short term because it’s transactional. Right. But if it’s long term and we want to build business and relationship and reputation, then, yeah, those relationships, that connection matters. Yeah.
Mark Hunter :
Hey, I gotta get the audience involved because we tease the word ninja at the beginning of the show. You’ve got a little connection there. And again, but it helps drive home high performance teams because of your background and your. Your coaching in terms of ninja. So share a little bit with the audience.
Ty Bennett :
Yeah. So I’m currently sitting in my office in the largest Ninja Warrior gym in the world, which I own, and I own two Ninja Warrior gyms. And it came out of my. I have five kids, and two of my boys found the show American Ninja Warrior, which most people have probably seen at some point, if you haven’t, it’s kind of obstacle course racing, that type of environment. They found the show and became obsessed with it. And over time, they have become nationally ranked ninjas, been on the show, competed all over the country. It’s become a huge part of our life. And I now with them, we put a ninja rig on stage, and we use ninja warrior as a metaphor as I’m teaching these lessons on high performance.
Ty Bennett :
So my boys are part of the speech. They travel all over the country with me. It’s kind of the coolest thing I’ve ever been able to do as a speaker and an author. I think I would have never imagined that this is what I would get to do. But also, it’s really fun because it brings it to life and it makes it more of an experience than just a speech. And, Mark, you had a chance to see it live this last year in Arizona. And, yeah, it’s fun because the audience is cheering, they’re pulling out their phones, they’re taking video, they’re blown away. But then we’re tying it into these lessons around high performance and how they can raise their performance to separate them and what they do.
Mark Hunter :
And as a father, as a dad, you’re watching your kids perform, you want them to do it well. And some of the events that they do, they’re hard. They are hard. Do you ever tense up? I mean, do you ever, like, oh,
Ty Bennett :
okay, so, Mark, so you can laugh at this. So at the event that you were at or this summer, the very end of the speech, I let the boys kind of build the Finale because they do some crazy stuff, like, I mean, they’re throwing some amazing tricks. And the very last trick that we typically do, my son Drew, who’s 15, he’ll do what’s called a flyaway regrab, where he’s flying off one bar, doing a backflip, and catching another bar. Now, every speech that we’ve ever done, he’s caught it on the first one or sometimes on the second. Most of the time, he catches the first time. The last couple of speeches we’ve done in the last two weeks, first try, catches it. It’s a hard move. So sometimes he’ll miss, though, and then he’ll dial it in.
Ty Bennett :
Catch it on the second at the speech that you were at. He missed it the first one, and then he missed it the second. And a lot of people after were like, oh, that was staged. No, I was dying inside. I was going, I don’t know what. Like, this is the ending of the speech. I don’t know what else to do. But it was interesting.
Ty Bennett :
So there’s a thousand people in this room, and they’re all kind of trying to will him into catching it. So, like, it’s a standing ovation before he even makes this third attempt. But it was interesting in that moment because I watched him compete in the toughest situations, like on, you know, on TV and in front of all these people and in really hard competitions. He looked at me right after he missed the second, and he just kind of made me eyes with me, and he goes, I got it. And I was like, okay. But I was sweating. I was just praying, like, please catch this. And then he caught the third time, and, I mean, the audience just erupted.
Ty Bennett :
It was like, the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. But, yeah, it’s. That aspect of being their dad and watching them perform on stage has been so amazing.
Mark Hunter :
And I was appalled that people thought it was staged, because I know you. I know you as a dad, and you would never, ever put your kids into that type of situation.
Ty Bennett :
Well, apparently, I did put them in a situation.
Mark Hunter :
Yeah. That’s just not who you are. But there’s something, though. They didn’t get to this level without a lot of preparation, a lot of pressure. No, it’s.
Ty Bennett :
It’s a ton of work. I mean, they train still every day, right. And that’s how we ended up buying the gym is. I don’t know. During COVID we were at the gym all day and every day anyway, and somehow I ended up buying it. But there. But, yeah, it was okay.
Mark Hunter :
Wait a minute. It was cheaper to buy the gym than to continue to pay.
Ty Bennett :
Saved me like the $60 a month or whatever it was, Right? Yeah. No, it’s. I mean, they put in a ton of work, but that was the cool part for me is I was watching all these principles that I’m sharing from stage and in my books come to life with this very visual sport. And so that’s where the tie in came together. And I was having the same conversations that we’re having right now that I would have with sales teams. I was having them with my sons in the ninja gym. We’re talking about preparation, we’re talking about adaptability, we’re talking about consistency, we’re talking about facing fear. Just all the same things, because high performance is high performance in any arena.
Mark Hunter :
Ty, I love that we got to wrap up the show here, but redefining High Performance, the book is out. You’ve got to get it. And I’ll tell you what, if you have a chance to catch Ty and his boys in the show, it is an amazing experience. It really is. I mean, it’s. It’s. Emotionally, it just grabs you. So, Ty, how do people get in touch with you?
Ty Bennett :
I’m pretty easy to find if you just search Ty Bennett and tybennet.com find me on social media. The book you can get on Amazon or wherever audible. It’s available for you. And yeah, love to connect. But thank you for having me, Mark. I appreciate it.
Mark Hunter :
Great. Hey, you’ve been listening today to the Sales Hunter podcast. Two episodes a week, one like this, where you do a deep dive with a subject matter expert. Ty certainly qualifies in that one. And second episode is me just unpacking a single topic. Why do I do the show? Is to help you see and achieve what you didn’t think was possible so that you can go out and redefine high performance again. Pick up the book Redefining High Performance by Ty Bennett. I’m Mark Hunter, the sales hunter.
Mark Hunter :
Great selling.
