The curse of competence

Being competent at what you do is a good start, but it’s not enough to be the best.

People that stay competent kill long term company value. That’s a harsh, sweeping statement I know. But competence breeds complacency which leads to mediocrity. To be a great salesperson or company you need to go from being competent to being the best. That’s how great companies and people grow.

How does you being the best benefit your customers? It means they get the right people that provide the best advice and value/benefit for their risk/investment.

Ask yourself, can “you” be the best at what you do? If not, why not? Or what can you be the best at and can you commercialise it?

I’m not saying this process is easy, but resigning to a life of competence, will ultimately prove much harder, soiled with the bitter zest of regret.

I regularly get requests from inspired and sometimes desperate businesspeople looking to partner up on an idea. The first place I start when evaluating any proposition like this is by getting to know the person behind the idea. The first question I ask myself is, is this person “exceptional” and does the idea have any hope of one day being the best? The answer, 99 times of 100 is a stone, cold, no.

It’s the people behind a business that make it truly great. But not just any old (competent) people – the right people. The right people are always self motivated and disciplined and willing to get their hands dirty. They are committed to learning and self improvement. The right people have a vision to be the best and they stick at it until the job is done. And the right people always attract other like-minded right people.

Life is way too short to be competent.

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Trent Leyshan is the founder and CEO of BOOM Sales! a leading sales training and sales development specialist. He is also the creator of The NAKED Salesman, BOOMOLOGY! RetroService, and the Empathy Selling Process.

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