Note to Self: The Flight to Quality is Ready for Takeoff
When markets shift, we see who loses their luster. When throwing around money, stocks, bonuses and titles become powerless in a market where disciplined prospecting, effective training and smart technology decides who generates the next sale, some people find themselves sitting at their desk, wondering -
Where’s the beef?
Recently a coaching client called.
“My phone is ringing off the hook,” she said. “Salespeople who once called us old-fashioned are asking for an interview.”
“Why do you think?” I asked.
“Sales aren’t falling in their laps anymore,” she said. “They never learned to generate leads, just take orders in a hot market.”
“True,” I said. “And what else?”
“Well, they see it takes more than a hot market to build a career. They need training, coaching, good colleagues and a dedicated manager.”
“Yes,” I said. “Anything else?”
“Well,” she paused. “I guess we’re all realizing that uncertain markets aren’t solved with lower prices alone. Customers want to work with quality companies who can fulfill their promises.”
They want to work with people who work.
If doing our job, and making money, were just a matter of showing up and pressing buttons, we’d all be Bitcoin millionaires by now. Funny how the organizations that are falling apart these days - fake currencies, cheap airlines, cut-rate supply chains, companies with ill-trained staff - all have one thing in common.
You always get what you paid for.
“Last week we hired three people who told us what mattered most was that we got things done. That our systems worked. Their manager would coach them. And that their colleagues produced more sales than social media videos,” said my client.
“And what about compensation?” I asked.
“They realized there was more to their earnings than their percentages,” she said. “They needed an organization that delivers so that they could deliver to their customers, too.”
The flight to quality has always been on the runway. It’s up to us to decide when to get on-board. We can remain distracted by the cut-rate options - cheap news, dismal leaders, disposable goods, no-show services and quiet-quitting colleagues. Or we can seize the opportunity to seek quality over quantity, and find the flight that - rain or shine - will always help us take off.
Because quality always rises to the top,
not by markets or money or mania,
but by YOU!