At the beginning of my sales career, I was pretty indifferent to winning or losing a sale.
I would find someone who was in the market, prepare a proposal, deliver the proposal, and wait on a reply.
It seemed in those days; I didn’t get many signed proposals. If I never heard back, if they didn’t return my call, or if they kindly said no thanks. I had no real heartbreak. Just better luck next time or see more people was my answer.
This went on from April through September. The losses didn’t seem so bad and every win was a good win.
Then came the day that a loss was a hard loss. It wasn’t the size of the deal. It was just one of my usual midsize machines. The people and the company were friendly. But by no means was it a trophy account that would pad the portfolio.
This one was the one that I had a competitor. Not just a competitor, but one that had an inferior offer. The machine, the terms, the hidden clauses. I had worked hard, gathered the information, and uncovered the truth.
I presented my product, terms, and conditions honestly. I pointed out the differences: the speed, the complete service, and supplies.
The office staff and I were in agreement my proposal was an excellent fit for the business. I left them for the evening. They liked it and would present it to the board.
I received a call the next morning. The kind gentleman on the other end said, “Reena, I’m sorry, but the board voted to go with the other quote.”
I said, “Thanks for letting me know.” I was heartbroken. I started to reflect. I could blame my sneaky competitor; after all, we all know they were. I could blame the board that decided to go with the other bid. But, instead, I had to see what could I have done differently? I had missed something. Do you know what it was?
I had convinced those people in the office before I went home. I had presented a strong case. But, I left that evening knowing there was a board meeting. I did not say, “Could I stay for the meeting in case there are questions?”
Disappointed, I now knew where I went wrong. This was when I realized winning beats losing every time. I wanted to win.
I could not from that moment on take a loss lightly. I could not shrug it off as out of my control. There is almost always something I could have done differently. Wins became necessary and losses began to hurt when I realized I had control over the situation.
I received a lovely handwritten card with an apology from the would-be a client saying I should have gotten the sale.
I was still broken-hearted after the card came. I did what I’m telling you to do. I picked myself up and went back to prospecting—this time with a lesson learned and a little more determination.
I still to this day, 26 years later, want to win. I have a reminder that goes off once per week that says, “Remember how it feels to win.” It’s important to me because lots of times it is up to me. I do make mistakes even today. Not because I don’t know, but because I get comfortable, busy, or distracted. The win is still important, and I still want to earn everything I can for my customers and me.
