Accepting a Loss with Class

One of the most difficult things to do as a salesman is to accept losing a customer, especially if you have already put a lot of time and effort into trying to win the account. The typical first response to something like this is shock. After all, you did the best presentation of your product, which was by far the best product and price on the market. The shock is usually followed by anger.

It is extremely important to lock these emotions away, at least until you have completed your interaction with the customer. Thank the customer for the opportunity to bid the account and politely ask them to keep you in mind if things should change. Although you may still feel the shock and anger, don’t let the customer see those emotions in your expression or your behavior. If you can accept losing the account with class, you might be leaving the door open for future business opportunities.

A friend of mine, Jay Gallagher, is a longtime sales executive in the telecommunications industry. He shared a lesson with me that he learned early in his career relating to this subject. At one point, he lost a large new account which he had worked extremely hard on. However, he resisted the strong urge to show anger and tell the client how big of a mistake they were making by not choosing his company.

Instead, Jay thanked the client and moved on. Six months later, he got a call from an even bigger client who indicated that he wanted to place a large order. Jay asked who had referred him, and the client responded with the name of the client whose account Jay had previously lost. The former client was a friend of the prospective client, someone he trusted, who told him that he had liked Jay’s attitude when he was pitching his company and was sure he would be a good person to work with. The original client also ended up doing a deal with Jay later on.

In this case, Jay’s calm attitude in the face of rejection not only led to work with that client down the road; it also led to new business from the client who was referred to him. On the other hand, blowing up and telling the client why they made the wrong choice will almost always eliminate you from further consideration in the client’s mind.

A broker I knew in my industry used to write these wonderful letters to clients after he lost an account, laying out in detail all the reasons why the client was wrong in his or her choice. He was a heck of a writer and some of these letters were 10 pages long. However, none of them ever got a response from the clients.

When I think about all the time and energy he put into writing these letters and focusing on the accounts he lost, I wonder how much business that ultimately cost him. He could have been putting his energy into drumming up new business, or calling up former clients to see if they were interested in expanding or moving this year. But instead, he held himself back by focusing too much on the lost accounts.

In sales, you’ve got to have a short memory. The longer you allow yourself to obsess over the losses, the more you lose the energy and enthusiasm necessary to procure new business. Having a short memory will also help you to not hold grudges against a particular client or against the competitors who beat you on that account. In the long run, most grudges hurt you a whole lot more than they hurt the other person.

Accept losses with class. Don’t hold a grudge. Have a short memory, and be open to the possibility of further opportunities down the road. These four key actions will help you avoid bogging down when you lose a deal and leave you ready to go out and get the next one.

Have a great weekend,

Ro