Don’t Be a Sore Loser

It's hard enough to not get that sale you’ve been working on for the past six months; don't make it worse by being a sore loser. It's over, the prospect chose another vendor, so get over it. I'm not suggesting you should be happy about it, but rather use the loss as fuel to burn the engine of desire to make sure it happens as infrequently as possible. 

Disparaging the winning company or making yourself feel better by believing the competition beat you because of price will not help you open more accounts. Turn your shellacking into a true learning experience. Here are a few tips for a post-loss gut check and personal follow-up to help you minimize the chances of losing business in the future.

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1. Did you do your research?

Did you have all the facts? Was your questioning and detailed proposal sufficient enough to ensure you made the best case possible for the prospect to use your company? It may be time to dig into your presentation and fix it....fast. 

2. Do you know why?

Simply ask the prospect why you did not get the account. It’s simple, but most sales professionals never know why they did not get the account because they don’t ask. Many times prospects give the low price objection and it was never really true. More times than not, you may not have presented a compelling enough argument to take price off the table as a differentiating factor.

3. Do you see a pattern?

Make note of the loss and the reasons why. If you see a pattern developing, change your strategy, or ask for a mentor's help to decipher what can be done. If it truly is a product failure (and most of the time it's not, no matter what you think), speak to the people that can effectuate a change and don't give up until it’s made. 

Follow these tips to open more accounts and be the superstar you know you can be.