The Dunning-Kruger effect in sales?

I stumbled across the following graphic in the Guardian, which shows that low-income people overestimate their income compared to the total population, while high-income people in Germany underestimate their income.

We know this phenomenon from the Dunning-Kruger effect, which says that people with little expertise in a subject area overestimate themselves, while very well-qualified experts tend to place themselves in the upper-middle range.

Looking back over the last 20 years, I believe I can observe this effect in sales organizations as well.

Weak organizations that do not follow any methodology, do not differentiate themselves and only position technical advantages, consider themselves \”normal\” or \”typical for the industry\”, although they make far too little of their potential.

Top organizations, on the other hand, see themselves as \”on a good path\” or \”doing quite well.\” This misperception can even be helpful, as these top organizations continue to look for ways to improve.

In contrast, the misperception of weak sales organizations is much more consequential. Those that don\’t understand how weakly positioned they are are very unlikely to take the necessary action.

How do you see it?

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