11/14/2023-I Didn’t Get the Business

Learning how your offering and your selling approach fell short is key in developing your personal AI knowledge for every subsequent opportunity that comes next.

Upon learning you didn’t get the biz, you have three choices of action:
1. Move on to the next opp.
2. Go to the bar and order a stiff one. (Who cares if it’s 11am?)
3. Dig like heck to learn about where your efforts and offering fell short.

Right now, you’re jumping out of your chair, "I KNOW ALL THIS…but I CAN’T get to the buyer after they emailed me. And besides, booze never solved anything!" (Righto on the latter!)

Well, you’re not like every other rep; you’re gonna fight, claw, scratch, and do everything you can to gain access to the buyer and learn what really happened. It’s what separates you from the others.

Today, write your pledge and strategy that will guide you in instances when you lose business. (It happens…!)

First, your pledge: write a short description to fuel your fight when the time comes. Describe the actions you’ll follow to get information, e.g., "I will email all 20 people on the buying team until I get someone who can tell me what really went on."

Next, what’s your strategy? When* you get access, you’ll only have the chance to ask a few questions…make them count. What are those questions that will yield strategic learnings and insights?

Write ’em down today while you’re thinking clearly.

It is a foregone conclusion you will get access to a buyer soon after hearing you’ve lost a piece of business. (Promise you’ll fight to find someone to talk to you??) Don’t take the easy road and move on to the next opportunity without learning as much as you can from the lost deal.

Moving on without learning anything is the equivalent of quitting…and you’re not a quitter.

Even though the decision has been made, you are obligated to yourself and your organization to close the book correctly: learn and gain insights from the buyer on everything possible about your sales approach, offering fit, and objectives. (It’s common for buyers to shift their objectives and strategies midstream during the proposal process.)

Learning where you fell short is key in developing your personal AI knowledge for every subsequent opportunity that comes next. What you learn informs how you’ll play it the next time.

Once you gain access, realize you may have about four or five questions to ask the buyer before the buyer wants to move on. The first and most obvious question to ask is… "What did the vendors who won the business have and do that we did not?"

But don’t stop there; prepare your list of questions to ask that update your knowledge and set you up for the next time.

The "Show me the money" scene in Jerry Maguire is a classic; watching it again will require just 2.5 minutes of your life.

While you’re entertained in this R-rated clip, remember that while YOU definitely want the money, the money only comes through fight and strategy.

You know you aren’t gonna win every deal, but appreciate it’s how you fight that defines you as a seller.

Fight like a caged animal when you’re down on the mat, but be graceful and strategic to learn more about the account – and decision makers – to set you up for the next time.