You Lost the Sale: Don't Get Mad, Get Smart

Gregory Peck in "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949)

The centerpiece of the World War II move, "Twelve O'Clock High", is a debriefing that takes place after a mission.  The navigator was three minutes off on his bomb release and missed the target, and, of course, there was hell to pay at the debriefing.  The consequences of that kind of mistake are enormous--much greater than losing an order.  (Although some bosses may disagree.)  I wrote about the importance of the "debrief" in a previous posting.
Now I want to discuss the importance of analyzing the lost sale--of understanding how it was lost and how to prevent future losses.
We often just want to forget that we lost that big order; even more, we don't want anyone to know that we lost it--most of all our bosses or our colleagues.
Baseball players don't have the luxury of ignoring mistakes.  Their strike outs or errors are shown on the JumboTron for all to see and criticize.  When a sales person loses an order, it's easy to hide it--usually--unless you've bragged about getting it before you actually got it (see my post on Overconfidence).  But, did you ever notice that a major league batter often heads down to the clubhouse after a bad at bat to look at the video to analyze what he did wrong.  That's what I'm talking about here.
In the military, there is no detail that is too small to be brought up on the debriefing.  In the "lost order" category, there is no detail too small to be discussed with your boss or colleagues.  You're all in this together and you need to find a solution to the lost order.  George Santayana famously said: "Those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it."
The answers to these questions must be brutally honest:
1.  Was the order lost because of price?  Really?  Orders are rarely lost because of price, so the answer is not the obvious one.
2.  Did you lose it because of poor follow up?  Read my post on follow up.
3.  Did your competitor introduce some features that your product doesn't have?
4.  Did your competitor have a better relationship with the customer?  Really? Then check out my posts on Transactional and Relational Sales.  Relationships are critical to sales success.
5.  Are you sure you were absolutely clear about the capabilities of your product and your company?  Did you spend the time to present your company and your products and service capabilities?
6.  Have you talked to the customer and asked who won the order and what the reasons that he chose the competitor rather than you--have you "debriefed" the customer?
7.  Can you meet with the customer and discuss the reasons that he chose the competition and not you?
Often, our attitude is--"okay, I lost it, now let's move on to the next one."  Well, you're going to lose the next one if you don't understand how you lost the last one. Don't be afraid to dissect the lost order--even to the point of interviewing the customer who went with the competition.  Don't get mad, GET SMART!

How to Get to Carnegie Hall

We sales folks never think that our jobs require practice.  Practice is what musicians do; it's what actors do; it's what athletes do--not what sales people do.
I was speaking recently with my good friend, Sal, a small business owner.  Sal is a volunteer firefighter and he was talking with me about how, once a month, firefighters are required to operate every piece of equipment--including doing things as simple as extending ladders.  Even firefighters who have been doing their jobs for decades are required to go through the practice--no one is excluded.
So what does this have to do with us sales folks?
I have spoken over and over again in my blogs about the need for preparation.  NEVER go into a meeting without an agenda.
But I'm going to suggest something more.  I'm going to suggest that you actually practice your sales pitch. Practice it on your wife; your kids; your boss; your colleagues.
Sales people who thinks that they're too good or too smart to practice are misleading themselves.  When I ride with a regional sales manager or another sales person, I like to go over the proposed sales pitch--practice it over and over.  In fact, one of the regional managers that I rode with used to debate with me: he would take the part of the customer or he would take the part of the competitive product sales person.   We were constantly discussing the merits of our product and debating the merits or failings of the competitive products.
Sales people NEED to practice their craft.
I have a major sales presentation in a couple of weeks.  My plan is to have the three presenters meet the morning before the meeting and prepare very carefully.  I refuse to go into a meeting without thorough preparation--without practicing.
How do we keep robots from taking our jobs?  By being better--PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.  As I said in my previous post, overconfidence is a deal killer.  Practice requires humility; it requires you to admit that you can get better.  And every one of us can get better.  Be humble; practice your craft.

Over-Confidence is the Mortal Enemy of a Salesperson

"Don't worry, I got this."  "Don't worry, this customer is in my pocket." "Sam wouldn't do anything until he checks with me."
I cringe when I hear those words from a salesperson.  Your customer has one purpose in mind--if he wants to keep his job--to make the best deal for his company.  So, while you're out patting yourself on the back because you feel that your customer is in your back pocket, think again.
The cardinal rule of a good salesperson is NEVER to think he has the order in his pocket; NEVER to think the customer will call before he decides to go with the competition.
Fear of losing the order is a great trait to have as a salesperson.  As long as you fear that you will lose the order, you will stay with it until the check clears.
One thing that customers don't like very much is that constant call asking if they placed the order yet.  So there's a thin line between being a pest and being over-confident.
You need to call, but you need to be offering something new when you call.  You need to develop a follow up strategy (just like a post sale strategy) that keeps you communicating with the customer so that your voice is the one that rings in his head (in a good way) when it's time to place the order.
For example, lead time update is always a good reason to call; any product updates is also a good excuse.  The point is, have a reason to call both before and after the sale.
Never assume the order.