You’re single and go out to a bar with a couple of friends, looking for a potential mate, getting there at 9pm. You’d really like to meet someone and leave the bar with them. So at 9pm, most people have some pretty high standards as to who they would like to leave with. But as the evening roles along, you are not finding anyone and you start to get desperate. You look at the clock and it’s getting close to 2am…closing time. At that point, if the goal is to not leave alone, many people lower their standards. What was unacceptable at 9pm is now acceptable at 2am because of the desperation. Many people the next day, regret the decision. Ugh.
I see the same thing happen when it comes to hiring salespeople. In the beginning of the process, high standards are set. But then 3 months into the process, when no one has been found, sales management starts lowering standards. (“we have an empty territory, so a B player is better than none at all”)..
They don’t hire the “Best” candidate, they hire the “B” player because “it’s hard to find good talent”.
And the same holds true with one night in a bar.
Don’t lower your standards. There are great salespeople out there. They may not be knocking on your door, but they are out there. (btw, research shows that just 7% of salespeople fall into the elite category; probably the same percentage you would find at the bar).
It’s OK to go home alone at 2AM. There is always another night.
Don’t settle for mediocrity.
- Jody Williamson
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