It’s a tough week. You have been running around trying to clinch just one business deal but it just isn’t going your way. You wonder what went wrong and start to beat yourself up and even blame external factors for the failure. When it gets too overwhelming, you decided to head down to the bar with some friends
At the bar, you rant to your friends about how the doors were slammed shut in your face and how unlucky you were. At the end of all this, you say, “Sigh, lesson learned! I am going to move on!”, and you raise your mugs and cheers.
Well, actually there is hardly any lessons learned at all. This common approach is what keeps you in the “problem state” – which is the place that carries all the emotional and mental burdens. You need to move away from this state.
Recognize that nobody is immune to setbacks, evaluate the problem so that you can grow stronger and wiser and better positioned to deal with the setbacks.
Think of 3 alternate ways it could have been better.
Focus on the internal factors (yourself).
- Maybe if you had not been late to the appointment, you would have clinched the deal!
- Maybe you focused too much about how the product works, but not enough on how it will lead to market share and ultimately profits.
- Maybe you should have listened more to his needs and explain how the product can help him.
Think of 3 outcomes that could result with the current process.
This will highlight the randomness in outcomes and help you with backup plans.
- The client could be very interested in your proposal, but saying no because at this moment it just doesn’t fit into their timeline.
- After some consideration, your client may come back to you to negotiate further on factors like price and contract terms.
- Your competitor might have already got to your client earlier and secured a deal.
Think of a worse outcome.
A tactic to make you feel better and also broaden your understanding.
Perhaps your comment on the client being old-fashioned and inflexible could annoy them and have you cut off completely in the future. But upon further reflection, it’s a great idea if your proposal can be adapted to fit their style.
