"Good enough never is." Hannah Whitall Smith (1833-1911)

"Good enough never is."
Hannah Whitall Smith (1833-1911)
American religious leader
I hear these statements way too often:
From Managers
"Well, my salespeople are seasoned." "My sales reps are veterans." "The guys here are experienced."

From Sales Reps
"I've been through training before." "I've seen that stuff before." "I've been in sales quite a while." "I do pretty good."

Let me put it in another light. Consider the following?

From a Cardiac Surgeon
"I had a class on heart surgery once back in medical school. That's good enough."

From a Professional Baseball Player
"I don't need to go to Spring Training, or take batting practice or infield before games. I've been playing for a number of years."

From an Olympic Figure Skater
"I practiced a routine once, a few years ago. I don't need to go through it again before competition."

Fat Guy at the Pizza Buffet
"I am in shape. I own a treadmill and even used it once ."
Of course, those are all absurd statements. As are the ones from sales reps who think they are good enough.

The fact is, "good enough" does not win championships, or make people excellent or wealthy. (And by the way, sales managers who
think that experience alone makes for a good salesperson, think again. Experience measures attendance. Accomplishment and results measures
success, and continued learning ensures it)

So, what's the point we are trying to make here?

You likely have not come close to reaching your potential as a sales professional. Few people have. I know I haven't.
In order to accomplish more of what you're capable of, I challenge you to look at your own "good enough" barrier and break through it,
regardless of how high that bar is for you.

This invisible obstacle is what holds many people back. Just when people begin approaching an opportunity to put in a little extra, to invest in
themselves, to seize a potential new achievement, many hit this mental boundary and say to themselves, "That's good enough."
Good enough is when talented people don't fully develop their abilities.
Good enough is when service slips and customers complain.
Good enough is when sales professionals do what it takes to get by, but miss growth and income opportunities in the process.
People who are satisfied with Good Enough cheat themselves, their family, their company, and their customers.
Action Step: If you're serious about sales, not just something you do to pay the bills-- take a serious look at what you're doing to improve
your "sales health."

Like I always say, sales is an art, a science, and a skill. It takes continual digestion and practice of new information, and practicing in order to reach
new levels.

Just when you're about to say, "This is good enough," push that barrier away. Go that extra inch.

Health experts suggest exercising 20-30 minutes at a time, 3-5 times per week. If you invested an equal amount of time on your sales health ...reading, listening
to tapes and CD's, and even writing, you can accomplish things other people--with low Good Enough barometers--will never come close to reaching.