10/8/2024-“I didn’t get the business.”

Nobody likes clicking the "closed-lost" box in their CRM, but in the sales life, you’re gonna experience losing more than winning. That’s okay, losing opens a wide door to learning lessons on how to win.

Still…losing biz yields intriguing and complex emotions! Frustration, anger and "I’m gonna get ’em next time" all swirl inside you. Good. You’re human.

The worst thing is to just move on to the next potential deal. Learn to turn a "no" into a "yes" by showing the customer you care about their business. Don’t rest until you get insights on why you lost.

Take a quiet moment and consider your I lost the business game plan to ensure it’s strategic and prescriptive.

It should start with this mantra…

"I will not rest until I learn EXACTLY why I lost the business, even if it means I stalk the KDM at their house each day for 187 days and eventually get them to talk to me at the playground when their kids are on the jungle gym."

If you don’t currently have an I lost the business plan, you should develop one immediately. (It’s the reason you’re in sales.)

Who hears "no" more: sellers or investigative journalists hunting for comments and interviews?

In this raw, short TED Talk, ex-journalist Dennis Kneale suggests that "it’s time to reframe ‘no’….time to look at it differently."

"No" is just a red light waiting to be run.

Adds Dennis, "Without ‘no’ we wouldn’t enjoy ‘yes’ as much."

True true!