Whatever you choose as the measure of your success will determine your opportunities to develop and achieve even greater success. If your measurement is too narrow, so will be your recognition of opportunities to improve.
Too often, I see producers and agency owners who get complacent and, at times, overly confident. This results from being satisfied, even cocky, with the new business they are writing or the total book of business they’ve accumulated.
No doubt, these are critical measures of success. However, revenue is sort of like the final score of a ball game. It may tell you who won and who lost. However, it doesn't reflect the nuances of the game or identify the opportunities for the winner to improve the way they play.
See all the learning opportunities
I regularly hear producers/owners express their desires to find opportunities to learn from others. However, suppose a producer or owner looks around the "room" (sales meeting, networking group, industry peers in general, etc.) and believes they can only learn from someone out-producing them. In that case, they will look past countless other learning and growth opportunities.
The smartest person in the room is the one who sees all the learning opportunities the room offers.
I applaud the desire to be around those who are better, but a myopic view of quality can be dangerous. The myopic belief that production numbers are all that matter will lead to missed opportunities for personal improvement.
If you look around the room and find that not only are you producing the most new business, but you are also the most:
- disciplined
- insightful
- innovative
- effective team player
- consistent
- effective leader
- creative thinker
Or the best:
- communicator
- prospector
- marketer
- developer of people
- and you have the greatest business acumen
- organizational culture
- (the list goes on)
. . . well, then it is time to find a new room.
Until you can make all those claims in a room, shame on you for not recognizing all the learning and growth opportunities that surround you.
And the final score is...
Remember, the final score is just that—the final score. Whatever the game, sales included, countless behaviors and skills influence the final score. Commit to growing those skills and improving the behaviors; the final score will take care of itself.
Be your own harshest critics and be honest about how much growing and learning you have to do. Do so in all areas that contribute to that final measurement of results.
When we stop focusing only on the final score and focus on all the variables that contribute to the score, we’ll usually find we haven’t come close to reaching our potential. Suddenly, the "room" you have put yourself in becomes exponentially more valuable.
If you want to learn from your industry colleagues and peers, the next Q4Live, a.k.a. "the best conference of the year," will be in San Diego on June 5 -7, 2023. Discover what the conference is all about and save your seat by clicking below.
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