Why Top Performers Get the Hate: Success Resentment in Sales

Summary

The Advanced Selling Podcast Episode: "Why Top Performers Get the Hate: Success Resentment in Sales" Release Date: February 3, 2025

In this insightful episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, hosts Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale delve into the intriguing phenomenon of why top performers often become the target of resentment and negativity within sales organizations. Through engaging conversation, personal anecdotes, and practical advice, they explore the underlying causes of this resentment and offer strategies for both high achievers and their peers to foster a more supportive and productive sales environment.

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1. Opening Remarks and Personal Anecdotes

The episode begins with a light-hearted discussion between Bill and Bryan about technical glitches they experienced before the show, leading to a humorous exchange about troubleshooting a Peloton treadmill issue. This segment sets a relaxed tone, showcasing the hosts' relatable personalities and camaraderie.

Notable Quote:

• Bryan (00:06): "Welcome back to the Advanced Selling Podcast. The longest running sales training podcast in podcast history."

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2. Introduction to Success Resentment in Sales

Transitioning from their technical hiccup, Bill introduces the main topic: the resentment that high performers often face from middle-tier colleagues. They draw parallels with sports dynasties like the Bulls under Michael Jordan and dominant teams like the New England Patriots and Alabama in football, highlighting that winners often become the targets of widespread dislike.

Notable Quote:

• Bill (04:19): "We're going to talk about why people oftentimes that are middle or middle type performers seem to throw shade at top performers."

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3. Common Excuses for Resenting High Performers

Bill and Bryan identify typical excuses used by mid-level performers to rationalize their resentment toward top achievers. These include attributing success to favorable territories, preferential treatment, or long-standing presence within an organization. For example, Bill mentions having the "northeast territory" as a reason for his success, which his peers might view as an unfair advantage.

Notable Quotes:

• Bill (06:15): "I have the northeast territory. I mean, that's our number one territory. We've been in that territory longer than anyone."
• Bryan (06:43): "If he's got a problem because he's our number one guy and he goes and barks the loudest, they're always prioritizing his deals."

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4. Behind-the-Scenes Efforts of High Performers

The hosts emphasize that much of a top performer's success is not visible to others. High achievers often work extensively behind the scenes—making calls late into the evening, sending follow-up emails on weekends, and building strong relationships with key stakeholders. This relentless work ethic contrasts sharply with the more relaxed attitudes of mid-level performers, who might not recognize the full extent of the efforts behind success.

Notable Quote:

• Bryan (08:46): "What you see is the Olympic jump. You don't see all the sweat and work."

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5. Self-Reflection and Personal Responsibility

Bill encourages listeners to introspect rather than blame high performers for their own stagnation. He suggests that resentment often reflects one's insecurities or dissatisfaction with their own performance. By recognizing this internal barrier, sales professionals can shift their focus from envy to self-improvement.

Notable Quote:

• Bill (07:19): "I almost always think it's some reflection of how I'm feeling about myself."

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6. Strategies for Overcoming Resentment

Bill and Bryan offer practical advice for those struggling with resentment toward high achievers:

• Shadowing High Performers: Spend time observing top performers to understand their strategies and work habits.

  Notable Quote:

  • Bill (10:35): "If you're saying that you're proving our point, if you're not, I've also found not always, but in most cases, high performers are more than willing to share with you their work processes."

• Building Relationships: Invite high achievers to lunch or informal meetings to learn from their experiences and insights.

  Notable Quote:

  • Bryan (11:30): "Take this person to lunch someday if they could share three ideas. And you know what? That person would love to."

• Focusing on Personal Growth: Instead of fixating on others' success, invest energy in developing unique skills and strategies that can enhance one's own performance.

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7. The Generosity of High Achievers

The hosts highlight that high performers are typically generous with their knowledge and eager to help others succeed. However, their willingness to share is contingent upon being asked. Without proactive engagement from mid-level performers, these opportunities for mentorship and learning may go untapped.

Notable Quote:

• Bill (12:08): "High achievers tend to say, well, I'm spending 10 grand to get 50. Let's do it."

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8. The Mentality of High Performers vs. Low Achievers

A discussion ensues on the contrasting mindsets between high and low achievers. High performers are portrayed as investment-oriented, willing to take calculated risks to achieve greater returns, whereas low achievers might be more cautious or reactive, often hindering their own progress by avoiding necessary investments in personal and professional development.

Notable Quote:

• Bryan (13:22): "She's a low achiever. Pinching pennies never going to get to any kind of [success]."

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9. Embracing Ownership and Dominance in Territories

Using real-life examples, the hosts illustrate how ownership and dominance in assigned territories can lead to exceptional performance. They recount stories of salespeople who have transformed underperforming regions into thriving markets through dedication, strategic thinking, and a proactive approach to sales.

Notable Quote:

• Bill (15:13): "He owns it. So Evansville, Indiana, Henderson, Kentucky, Owensboro, Kentucky, Madisonville, Kentucky—the towns you've never heard of before. He owns it."

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10. The Evolving Concept of Territory in Sales

Bill and Bryan discuss the traditional concept of sales territories and how digital advancements are redefining this notion. They ponder whether geographical boundaries will become obsolete as remote selling and digital marketing continue to expand, allowing sales professionals to reach clients beyond physical confines.

Notable Quote:

• Bryan (16:38): "So territory is... I wonder at some point when... when is that going to be a relic of the past."

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11. Community Engagement and Listener Participation

Towards the end, the hosts encourage listeners to join their LinkedIn group to share experiences and thoughts on the topic. They emphasize the importance of community engagement in addressing and overcoming the challenges associated with success resentment.

Notable Quote:

• Bryan (16:49): "Make sure you join us on the LinkedIn group, advancedonlypodcast.com LinkedIn. That should take you right there."

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12. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In wrapping up, Bill and Bryan reiterate the importance of shifting mindset from resentment to proactive learning. By engaging with high performers and embracing their strategies, mid-level sales professionals can unlock their potential and achieve greater success.

Notable Quote:

• Bryan (17:53): "All right, see you next time."

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Key Takeaways

• Self-Reflection: Resentment towards high performers often stems from personal insecurities or dissatisfaction with one's own performance.

• Proactive Learning: Engaging with and learning from top achievers can provide valuable insights and strategies for personal growth.

• Behind-the-Scenes Effort: High performance is usually the result of extensive, often unseen, hard work and dedication.

• Mindset Shift: Focusing on self-improvement rather than envy fosters a more positive and productive sales environment.

• Community Support: Leveraging community platforms like LinkedIn can facilitate knowledge sharing and mutual support among sales professionals.

This episode serves as a valuable resource for sales professionals seeking to understand and overcome the barriers created by success resentment, ultimately promoting a culture of growth and collaboration.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Welcome back to the Advanced selling Podcast. The longest running sales training podcast, podcast history. I'm Bill Caskey.

[A]

I'm Brian Neal here.

[B]

We've been at this for 18 long and glorious years and we are entering into. Yeah, the 18th year. This year, September will be number 18. We started. Actually it's 19.

[A]

Started 19 six.

[B]

Yeah, 19 glorious, that. 18 glorious years. The last year. Yeah, not so much.

[A]

Yeah. We've got an intern working for us, woman named Gabriella. Very really awesome young person finishing college working here a little bit. And I said, well, going up the podcast, she goes, good luck. I said, thanks. I said, it's my 18th year. She's like, what? She didn't know, but we do need some good luck doing this. Sometimes it's not, you know, it doesn't always come natural. Well, maybe it does, but I had.

[B]

A call, I had a. Actually a direct message from a listener the other day. His name is Stephen. I won't. I'll keep him anonymous there. But Stephen, he really complimented us on the AI episode that. If you haven't heard that one, I think it was either the last one or the one before that where we talked about some of the uses of AI for sales professionals, business owners, sales departments. And he said, man, you guys ought to keep doing a series on that because it was a lot. He said he circulated inside his company and his. The owner of his company really liked it. So that's all awesome. We probably should take a cue from that that maybe we do another one on AI. We'd like to hear what you think of it too. You can go to our LinkedIn page, LinkedIn group page. If you're not a member, make sure you join and tell us there, because we look at that.

[A]

So, Bill, we had we. Before the show, we logged on like we always do and couldn't hear Bill. We had some technical issues, but. And talking, looking, I'm sure, Bill, you're pushing buttons. I was pushing buttons. You're. You're trying to solve the problem with no audio. You solve the problem. Then we said, you know, let's just try to log out, log back in. And lo and behold, we logged out. We logged back in and we could hear each other. I have a peloton, you know, Peloton, Bill, Peloton. We have a Peloton bike. I just wondered because some people are, you know, some people don't like them. Anyway. We have Peloton tread. And I watch YouTube TV on my Peloton tread when I'm work, you know, walking, whatever and for about a month, the YouTube TV, I would log into it just fine. It would show me all the choices, the live TV choices. I'd press one and would go into the spinning wheel of death and would never pop up. And it's been that way for about four weeks. My daughter's on there. She's like, dad, it's super frustrating. I'm like, I know, Bug. I'm trying to fix it. I went through all these cycles and all this, all this stuff came home yesterday. Anna, my daughter, she's like, dad, it's still not working. I'm like, okay, let me go see. I've been working on it. It's going through this stuff.

[B]

Kit out, you know?

[A]

Totally. I had a little wrench.

[B]

I.

[A]

All the things I go, you know what, Let me try unplugging it and plugging it back in. And I'm freaking. You know where this is going. Unplug the thing. Sat there for 90 seconds, plugged it back in, popped right up. Everything's working perfectly. Good lesson in life.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Sometimes the best solution to a problem is the simplest is the reboot. It is just the reboot. Just turn it on and turn it off again.

[B]

Yeah. Especially with like phones and tech.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which YouTube is tech. I just think things get junked up in the pipeline somehow.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

I have no. A wrench won't help it either.

[A]

No, it doesn't.

[B]

To YouTube.

[A]

That's just so funny yourselfer.

[B]

So I'm sure that wrench.

[A]

Both of us.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We should start. Yeah. Maybe a side podcast. A Tool Time a do it yourselfers for non do it yourselfers di. Oh my gosh. I get so frustrated, so frustrated trying to fix things. This morning I was on the peloton bike and it was wiggling. I couldn't figure it out. Like looking learn all the things. It was sitting on the cord. I just had to pull the cord out and I was like. It took me like 20 minutes to figure that out. I'm so bad at that. Oh my God, it's terrible.

[B]

I had to have Cody, my son in law, come over the other night to fi. To do a fluorescent light because I. I can't see very well. And to be honest with you, I'm still a little. I'm still a little leery of electricity even after 150 years. I had him come over. It literally took him 25 seconds. He goes, you mean you couldn't do that?

[A]

Yes, I couldn't, but thanks, Cody.

[B]

Okay, topic.

[A]

Let's do it. We talking pre show about some stuff. And this is an interesting one. We're going to talk about why people oftentimes that are middle or middle type performers seem to throw shade at top performers. And it seems like people that win become the enemy of the world. People that are good at things, people that win, win championships in basketball or football. In the, you know, in the 90s when Michael Jordan played for the Bulls, it was the Bulls. It was a dynasty and people just didn't like it. It was the Celtics before that and then football. It was the Patriots and it was Alabama. Everyone hates Alabama and they seem to only hate the winners. They never hate the losers. And in the sales org, it's interesting for us to observe this because we tend to see middle high performers. I do at least three throw shade at some high performers sometimes. Well, the. And so we just thought that'd be a good topic to talk about and, and for you to take inventory as you're listening to this, of where am I on this spectrum and do I do what Bill and Brian are talking about and is that serving me? Well?

[B]

Yeah, totally agree. I think it's a great topic and it, it really forces us, it's a forcing function to check ourselves and say, how do I feel about those around me who are maybe perceptibly more successful than I? Or maybe they make more money or maybe they, they look now and sometimes you're. You got to be careful with that. What, what people look like too, because a person may drive all the greatest cars and maybe, you know what. So but let's just generally say that, you know, somebody in your organization is financially more successful than you. How do you look at them? And what do you, what do you think about when you see them operate or when you see them meet with the CEO or you know what, what do you think about what. What do you find in your.

[A]

Yeah, what.

[B]

I see some experience in that.

[A]

Yeah. There are a couple of common themes. I would say it's not 100 to the person, but some things I see there's typically an excuse given to why the high performer is the high performer and the excuse is given by the middle to low performer. Examples would be. Well, I mean, you know, Bill has the whole northeast territory. I mean, that's our number one territory. I mean, we've been in that territory longer than anyone. I mean.

[B]

Yeah, forget that Bill helped us.

[A]

Exactly. Drove the thing up for 25 years. But. So that's a thing. It's the territory. Another one would be, well, you know, our, our operations group, they always Pick the bill's deals first. If he's got a problem because he's our number one guy and he goes and barks the loudest. He's the one that makes the most noise. So they always, you know, if my deal sitting there, my deal sits there for two weeks while they're working on bills to get his implemented. There's just always an excuse.

[B]

Why do you think that excuse is a. A form of protection for why I'm not like Bill.

[A]

Let's.

[B]

Let's use another name here. Wow. Not like Colleen Trevor.

[A]

Yeah. 100. The. The. I think the hard part even for me to think about this is it's hard to do. I feel like as a human but when I'm feeling that way about another person, I almost always think it's a reflection of something inside of myself.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I see someone with us always a more listened to podcast, the event selling podcast and I'm like, we've been this for 18 years. Nurse is really awesome. And they are, you know, spewing a bunch of baloney but they have five times the listeners. I'm like, you know what? That's about me. Let's. Because you know, we haven't promoted this thing and it's grown organically and it's. And it's what it is and we're really happy about it. We love it. So I think almost always it's some reflection of how I'm feeling about myself.

[B]

Yeah. Also I think to. To that with that example. I think that's a perfect example because there's a lot behind the scenes that we don't see as well. And we're looking at the scenes and not behind the scenes. And behind the scenes is where probably all the action is taking place. Where you know, maybe the. This high level salesperson that you're a little resentful of is having dinners with the CEO and and you know, building their reputation inside the company by interviewing people and writing. I mean you don't know what's happening behind the scenes. All you see is, you know, the Olympic jump. You see that the gymnasts get the 10. You don't see all the freaking sweat and work.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Turned ankles and missed dinners and all that stuff.

[A]

That is, that is such a good point. In the sales org. You, you see that, you see the middle that the middle high performers ease out of a Friday, you know, noon. They go to lunch. They go to an hour and a half lunch, maybe a liquid lunch. And they just, you know. Exactly. Right. Let's go old school.

[B]

Bill.

[A]

And, and they don't see the high performers making calls until 4:30, 5:00 and then maybe popping up and I'm not saying this is good or bad, but maybe popping up on a Saturday and getting some more emails sent out, things followed up on. And they're just, they're those people. We see them. They do. I love your idea. They do things behind the scenes that people don't see. People just assume this stuff just all happens because of circumstances beyond their control. Good territory. It does not. It never does.

[B]

Yeah. So what advice can we give people who are in that place? Maybe we've described you a little bit and you're, you're not going to raise your hand and admit it, but you know, you know, listening to us in the car driving along i10 from wherever to wherever.

[A]

Is that in Dallas or is it I 10? That's a good trivia. All, let's see, all of evens go east, west and odds go north, south.

[B]

I think it goes from Dallas to LA. Maybe isn't the 10 is over?

[A]

Yeah, yeah. We go left to right. We go the 5, the 10, the 20. Yeah. Over 405.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

All right. I would, here's what I would say. Some of you are listening to this going, these guys are full of crap. They don't know what they're talking about. It is because of his territory. So if you're saying that you're proving our point. If you're not, I've also found not always, but in most cases, high performers are more than willing to share with you their work processes. More than willing. And no one ever asks them.

[B]

No.

[A]

So if I'm in the southeast territory and I'm kind of average, middle of the road, middle of the pack and the northeast gal, and she's kicking it up there, I might go spend two or three days with her. I'm like, can I come shadow you and watch you work? Nobody does that.

[B]

I know they don't even say, hey, can I take you out to lunch and just, you know, just learn. Learn from you. I mean, and I think it's because. And this happened politically in our country with Robert J. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Was running for president. For those of you in this country know that. Those that don't. He's from the Kennedy, you know, Kennedy family, of course. And Trump picked him or asked him to be his running maid, said no. And they were kind of going at odds. And then at some point Trump wins and he asks Kennedy to be his. I can't remember Any HHS or NIH or something. And Kennedy at some point has to, has to salve his ego.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Long enough to say, you know what? I. This guy took this away from me, but I can also do good based on him. Again, this is not political. It's just his. If I'm in the administration in some capacity. And so sometimes you have to, you have to just dampen your ego long enough to say, how about if I just took this person to lunch someday if, if they could share three ideas. And you know what? You're right, Brian, that person would love to. They'll buy lunch.

[A]

Always.

[B]

They, they always. High achievers want to share. Most high achievers are generous with that, but if nobody's asking, they're not going to take the lead. So true or out people.

[A]

And you know what else high achievers do? They'll. If you ask them like I want to come shadow you and watch you work while that's going on, they're going to ask you a billion questions about what you do and try to steal something right from the. They just. Because they just don't think about the leveling thing.

[B]

It.

[A]

You know what I mean? It's not about that for them. It's about the process and what they do and how they do it. And then they wind up on the stage of President's Club every year.

[B]

Well, don't you think that's. That's also another. That's probably another episode that it's the high achievers that always look at, look at your content and my content or a podcast say, how can I get value out of this? Not. I was on a, I was on a webinar a couple days ago. It was for AI and, and this. The, the host put on his screen you. It called QR code that if you wanted more information, you just held your phone up, get QR code. We know how that works, obviously. And this lady in the chat said, well, am I being charged for the text minutes when I do the QR code?

[A]

Oh my.

[B]

I'm like, this guy was pitching a $50,000 AI product and I thought, oh, you just revealed yourself, man. You just revealed yourself. She is not a high achiever.

[A]

Right?

[B]

She's a, she's a low achiever. Pinching pennies never going to get to any kind of. And I think we've got to be careful of, of not be falling into that trap of majoring in the minors. And, and when we take somebody out, take them out for a nice dinner. I mean, I mean, invest, invest in this Information. Because this high achiever could give you something that could double your income. I see it. And high achievers tend to, tend to say, well, you know, I'm spending 10 grand to get 50. Let's do it. When? Right. I had that happen about a month ago. A guy called me. He was a, you know, YouTube watcher, and in my. And I had no idea even existed. And he said, here's what, here's what my problem is. What's it going to cost to start? I told him, he goes, let's go. That's it. And it was not like, well, let me check with 17 other people, my wife or my bankers. Like, let's go, let's do it. How do I, how do I pay you? And you've had that happen to too. Versus the person who's like, well, you know, that's a lot of money for me right now and I'm gonna, I think I need to make some more money before. Oh, okay, I'm. You're done with me, then you're done doing it backwards.

[A]

And you never, you can't get out of it. It's just that, you know, you're, you're, you're trying to climb up out of the hole, but you just, you never, ever get there. The whole thing, you know, you never get to the top. So true, isn't it?

[B]

So what else? Anything else that a person who's in that middle range, who wants to rise, and we're not making, we're not univers universally slamming those people because some of you probably are. You're listening to this podcast, so I know you want to improve yourself in some way.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Maybe you just haven't taken that next step of inviting this high achiever to lunch. And it doesn't have to be inside your company. It could be a competitor. It could be somebody that has a different territory.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Is in a different company, maybe same industry. But they, you don't compete with them. It doesn't matter. They still want to help.

[A]

No, I, I like to also think this goes along with what we're talking about. But we look the, at these external, you know, things. And while we're looking at the external things and putting energy toward why they have theirs, and we're not looking at where our feet are. And if someone. Let's use the territory because it's an easy example. Someone has the Midwest territory, they have Indianapolis, St. Louis and Cincinnati. I can almost guarantee you we could find some company where the number one territory in the whole country is actually in Indianapolis, St. Louis and Cincinnati. Because of the salesperson. One of my good friends from high school sells in the medical device biz. His territory is western Kentucky. Go to what? Go Google Western. Just look around there. There is nothing there. But he is so good. And he is. He owns it. He owns it. So Evansville, Indiana, Henderson, Kentucky, Owensboro, Kentucky, Madisonville, Kentucky, the towns you've never heard of before. He owns it. And so it can be one of the bigger, better growing territories in the country. Because of his mentality. Because he's not looking at like, well, if I was in, you know, Chicago, I mean, I'd be doing a lot more, of course, the New York rep or the Philly rep, but he's beating him because he has a different mentality. He's going to own his patch of grass.

[B]

You know, he dominates and he owns it.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And. And you're. Yeah, I love. I love that story.

[A]

That's so true. Good.

[B]

So territory is. And, you know, I wrote down the word territory, and I'm wonder at some point when. When is that going to be? And a relic of the past.

[A]

Really good point.

[B]

Hello, territory. Because it's like, well, physically and geographically, my. But if I'm putting out content, I get a call from across state line.

[A]

Oh, do I run?

[B]

I'm gonna call the FBI. They're trying to buy from me across state lines.

[A]

Yeah. Before we get too far into this, can you give me your zip code? I want to see who's. Who's got you?

[B]

Who's got you?

[A]

Who's got you? Sorry. Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna get you. My friend Bill, he's got the, the. The 0546205. You're gonna love. It's funny.

[B]

All right, well, make sure you join us on the link in the LinkedIn group, advanced only podcast.com LinkedIn. That should take you right there. We got, I don't know, 12, 14, 000 people there. Tell us what you think of this topic. And maybe if you've seen it, you don't have to admit that you've had this rage. No, you had this attitude. But tell me if you've seen it. Maybe if you're a high achiever and you're top in the company, tell us how many times people have come to you in the last year with, you know, help that needs a request for help.

[A]

Love to hear that one.

[B]

Yeah, that's good.

[A]

All right, see you next time.

[B]

All right, bye.