”I didn’t get the business.”

Nobody likes clicking the ”closed-lost” box in their CRM, but in The Sales Life, you’re gonna lose more than you win.

Losing teaches the real and important lessons. Losing makes winning feel special…and earned.

Still, losing biz yields complex emotions and competitive juices! ”Gosh darn it” and ”I’m gonna get ’em next time” are natural reactions.

GOOD! Those reactions are healthy.

The worst thing you can do after a loss is to move on without sticking around to fight. The sooner you learn to turn a ”no” into a ”yes,” the more success you’ll have in your career.

The best Save the Business plan is a Don’t Wait Until It’s Lost plan.

Today…

1. List the Champions you have for each of your big whales you’re trying to close. (Sellers who develop the best Champions win the Save the Business game.)

2. Create the direct, specific questions for your buyers that will collect the truth about where your proposal stands. E.g. ”What is the truth about where our proposal stands as you get ready to make your decision?” (Not hard, eh?)

3. Who from your management team can you enlist to work the inside of your target accounts?

Who hears ”no” more: sellers or investigative journalists?

In this raw, short TED Talk titled ”Thriving on No,” ex-journalist Dennis Kneale suggests that ”it’s time to reframe ’no’ and look at it differently.”

If you see a red light when you hear ”no,” change your perspective.