It hurts without recognition;
It hurts without limits;
It hurts without you even feeling it, at times;
It hurts and I know it.
There are times in your sales career (read Sales and Business Development at all places I write just sales) when you did everything to strike a deal but do not get through. If it’s within only a couple of days you lost it, it won’t hurt much. But if you have put in months or sometimes more than a year to get through a sales deal and you lose it to your competition then it hurts, real bad.
Whatever is told or advised to you to cheer up and get back kicking it’s not that easy you know. I know. But life has to move on, however cliched it might sound, this is the fact that sales people need to become heartless at times and strive for more as if nothing happened. This is very difficult, all you Aam Aadmi who are reading this and thinking Adi has lost it, it really is very difficult.
Of course this ‘black dot’ (of losing a big deal) can never be erased but let’s look at ways in which this pain can be reduced or subdued atleast:
1. Listen to music: Nothing better than listening to the kind of music you love, bursting in your ears. Use earphone/ headphone if possible. Just play for hours. Be it your mobile, Car, Home, Gym, Walking whatever you are doing, play on.
2. Eat your heart out: Eat your favorite food, gulp down your favorite drink, chill and live your life, relaxed. Statutory Warning: Smoking and Alcohol kills. Just to ensure you don’t hold me for your death.
3. Cook, if you can: For those who have the facility should use this option, cook whatever you feel like, I always try tossed mixed vegetables on a plain tawa. This is easy and goes well with Beer and you are free to use whatever is left over in your fridge, just dump it in, with a verly little olive oil and salt. Your chakhna is ready.
4. Shop till you drop: By now you would have figured out that am listing all/ more or less what Rahul Bose told you to do when you have a breakup in your love life, in the movie – Pyaar Ke Side Effects. But then think about it, losing out on a big sales deal is as much like a breakup in your love life (the ones in which you would been for more than a couple of days, i meant). Look at the startling similarities if you actually think of it. I have given this a thought and hence I am here giving away this Gyan session.
Now, we were on shopping, let go of some money that you have been saving in that Fixed Deposit, Mutual Fund and that lousy stock which you goofed up with but have a feeling that one fine day it will rise and make you a millionaire. My dear sales-men (100% of the MEN who play in equity have this one love towards at least 1 script), get rid of it NOW, if you have nothing else to spare. Else keep that slow poison on…
And my dear Sales-women, please go ahead with your normal life and shop, like you do otherwise also. No biggie for you.
5. Short Travel: Go to places you always wanted to go. Does not mean you take off for a month to Himalaya, don’t over-react. Those trips should not be planned in haste. Travel or roam around to freshen up and not to do real hardcore travel to places you love. For example, when we went to Ladakh, it was not out of some frustration from work, we planned for it for months (6, to be precise) and then went there with all the love in our heart and not because I lost some deal. This travel am talking about here, is to relax and loosen up your strained brain cells.
6. Meet your School Friends: For me, meeting my school friends is a stress-buster. No inhibitions, no hard feelings, you open up and talk about all silly things you did in your school days, each of you will actually cherish the moments you are together without ever thinking about how high or low you have reached in your career. It does not matter anymore, if you are in touch with your school friends and they are in the same city, go have a beer or two and chill out.
With all the fun and masti, never forget you are still in Sales and losing 1 deal is not the end of the world. If you think so, you are a loser from the word go. And talking about that ‘black dot’, yes for a salesperson a lost deal is of course a very big thing, but should be taken positively, always. At some point in time (hopefully asap), you should be in a position to talk about this loss and how you recovered and went ahead to crack many more multi-million deals.
As much as my best wishes are with you, I need yours too! Thank you.
I think instead of thinking "Let it go" or "It happens" etc., a person honestly accepting that Yes i have lost it, somehow gets relaxed to bounce back in sometime. Above mentioned things helps one connect to self and near-dear ones.
Adi, you will do Great soon!! All the very Best 🙂
P.S:
A wounded person could be more dangerous to crack competition and Win the Race.
You are so very right! And thank you for your good wishes! 🙂
~Adi
How about going through Prof. Kuruvilla's witty remarks to cheer you up. The actual sales begins when the customer says NO, tab tak to aapka brand hi sell kar lega 🙂
Sahi baat, sahi baat, sahi baat! 🙂
what about beer??? or bear !!!