5 April 2006

803 words

It�s in the bag � aaak, where�s my psychologist?

On Friday Simon� got Radio 94.7�s �Sound of Joburg� right. The prize was R120 000. Jeremy Mansfield said that he had two correct sms answers and one of them was from Simon�. He said that if the first caller didn�t answer her phone, he�d phone Simon�.  Unfortunately for us, the first caller answered her phone and won. Simon� came second and ended up with nothing. When she told me this it felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach � R120 000 could keep me in cigars for a month. I was seriously disappointed and more than a little off for the rest of the day. I almost wished that Simon� hadn�t told me. Ignorance in this instance really would have been bliss.

My disappointment got me thinking about times when I�ve lost sales that were �in the bag�. It was the same feeling I'd got from us missing out on the R120 000: like a blow to the gut, heaviness in the shoulders, shallow breathing, a quiver in the voice and a twitch in the tear duct. Maybe you�ve been in the same position? Losing a sale is definitely not for sissies and this is no time to use loser language like �it�s all about the journey, not the destination.�

It�s almost impossible for a sales manager to pick up a sales person that has taken a serious hit. To do this, she probably would have to be a psychologist.

The words �get over it and move on� don�t seem to help a sales person off her knees. It just seems to deflate her more. For all the motivators that read this column (Billy, Gavin, Dolf, Paul, Erik, Arnfried � you guys have got a handle on the human psyche) perhaps you can send me your views on recovering from a loss and I�ll publish them in the next Looking Sideways. You may want to be giving our cricket team a call after this morning�s beating ;-). If you have any ideas, click on this link Hey, Jacques this is how you get back on the saddle after falling off a horse

For what it�s worth, here are my thoughts on losing a sale:

Have a 10-minute �pity party�. You�re going to beat yourself up anyway, so you may as well limit it to a set time and then move on. Otherwise you�ll be thinking about the lost sale all the time and it will start affecting your other sales as well. Don�t go there.

Don�t play the blame game. You�ll typically lose a deal because it�s your fault. Your competitor outsold you. Klaar. Admit it and move on. It doesn�t matter who messed up because as the primary in the account, you ultimately have responsibility for the success or failure of a sales pitch. Remember, if you�re pointing fingers at someone, there are normally four fingers pointing back at you.

Admit your mistake, find out what went wrong and share it. �What are you smoking, Jacques? I�m not letting anyone know why I lost a sale.� Only by sharing it with the other members of the sales team can you prevent them from making the same mistake. This will help fast-track future sales.

P⁵. Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. All things being equal (there�s budget and the prospect needs what you have to sell), most deals are lost because of poor planning. It�s the small things that�ll scupper a deal e.g. spelling mistake in the proposal, your notebook runs out of battery power (and you forgot the power cable), you�re dressed inappropriately, you mispronounce a prospect�s name or you miss a deadline (these are real examples that have cost some of my clients deals). Remember, God is in the details and so is the devil.

Have a full pipeline of qualified prospects. So, if you lose a couple of sales, who cares ... you're guaranteed to close at some stage anyway. I can�t put it any better than Rank Xerox � �Calls equal demonstrations equal sales.�

Don�t spend the money before you have it.  When a deal is 90% closed many sales people max out their credit card in anticipation of the commission. Don�t go there.

Talk to the top sales person in your organisation. You can be sure that they�ve also lost big deals. Ask them how they got over it.

Sales is one of the few professions where the more you fail, the more you succeed. Every rejection brings you closer to your �yes� and a sale. Take a leaf out of leadership guru, John Maxwell�s book and �fail forward�.

Don�t fall on your sword by asking �Why did I mess up?� Your mind is a funny thing and will answer the question in ways that you cannot imagine e.g. �because you�re stupid, because you�re lazy, because you�re inept�. Guess how bad you feel after your own mind has beaten you up. Rather couch the words differently � something like. "How can I do better next time?" Now you�ll start getting answers that you can work with.

Copyright 2006 by Jacques de Villiers 

This article may be copied or republished with the following credit:

"By Jacques de Villiers, Inspirational Speaker, Johannesburg, South Africa.
+27 (0) 82 906 3693  www.jacquesdevilliers.com "