I will sum up in one sentence why I can’t stand “participation trophies” and awards that are given for showing up.
I hate them because “average is the bane of greatness.”
Why should we settle for being just average when we can push ourselves to a higher level?
Could you imagine Steve Jobs or Bill Gates receiving a “participation award” for being in the computer club in middle school and thinking that was good enough?
When we are willing to settle for average, we stop pushing ourselves. When we settle for average, we fail to realize what we can accomplish.
We fail to help others achieve everything they can be. Simply put, when we settle for average we’re telling ourselves there is no point in attempting to maximize the talent that lies inside of each one of us.
Lest you think I don’t get the point of participation awards, I do. Motivation is a powerful tool that can stimulate performance, but conversely it can simply dumb down the masses.
It doesn’t matter what we can do or what is expected of us, we can always do better. Average is the bane of greatness.
Business mirrors life. There are winners and there are losers. There are those on top and those at the bottom. When I encounter salespeople who are content being in the middle of the pack, I want to scream.
Do customers want to deal with salespeople who are merely average? No! Customers want the best, no different than a surgeon! Would you want to know you’re going to be operated on by a doctor who is merely average? No!
Our goal is not to be content with average. Being average is for somebody else. Being average is only a moment in time while we are on the way to achieving something much better.
Your customers don’t want an average salesperson, so quit disappointing them.
Copyright 2015, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
