Don’t you hate when you finally get the news that you had a “great product” but “we decided to go another direction”? I got that message today. We came in the top 2 out of a half dozen vendors. I guess I should feel okay but it still shows up as a loss in my pipeline report!
Sales is binary – win or lose, 50/50, yes/no.
Close only scores points in horseshoes and hand grenades so close doesn’t really count in my world. But, make sure you analyze the opportunity and make it a learning experience. Move forward, but look back first, with a sharper eye towards the next deal.
I am one no closer to the post.
Brick
Totally agree…there are absolutely lessons to learn in losses though. Quick story, recently we lost a highly competitive RFP with a household name company…we “came in second”…the RFP was a painstaking, time consuming process. However that work was not for naught as I have now used all the info/work I did for this RFP for other, often less complex, RFP’s that we have won. So while I was extremely frustrated in the short term, the work I spent on it originally will hopefully continue to pay dividends.
Thanks Mark. Yes, it’s always a learning process and a building block for the next opportunity.