Medals are for Keeps, Records are Borrowed

This blog's title is the exact phrase as said in commentary tonight by javelin European championship and former world record holder, Steve Backley.

Notable as it was his own record that just got beat. Eventually. Lasting an impressive 28 years. Remarkable as he had been bemoaning the current crop of throwers' lacklustre performance. Right before an unexpected, wildly better throw at the death took his Euro mark.

I find variants on this;

medals are for keeps, records are borrowed
medals are forever, records are broken
we borrow records, but we keep titles

In our Sales the parallel is glaring. I couldn't help but think on the mistake many a seller makes when they treat shifting rankings as if they were permanent titles.

We have our own 'medals'. The title that goes with being a One Hundred Percent achiever. Think closing the quarter at or above quota, regardless of where you sit on the leaderboard.

Then there's the 'records'. Being Team-wide Number One. Or Outperforming a particular colleague or other division. Even smashing it by the most-ever percent.

The latter misleads. The former is from where permanence hails.

Target attainment trumps relative performance.

Every now and then, I must gently remind a salesperson of one central tenet;

'the only contest is you against your target'.

Even when internal ladders or career gateways temporarily pull your attention elsewhere, or where there's an undercurrent of 'enemy building', the only competition that counts is still you against quota.

Think firmly on medals first and foremost. Only when gained, could the stretch to records come into play.

You'll sense this. Whether in your own game or others. Next time you review a pipeline that smells of chasing glory over quota, pull it back to the numbers.

'Are we locking down the medal here, or just chasing a temporary record?'

Yes, you can still have the end-of-year shinding champers popping for the overall ceiling-busters. But by then, the clocks will already be back to zero. The main thrust - similar in a way to the essential mindset of placing process before outcomes - should be on hitting that target. Anything else is a distraction to be managed, and lessened.

So remember, next prospective business review, make the test simple; “Medal or record?”