Lol I sure don't deserve a halo. It took a few calls for me to figure that something was wrong to lose these sites within the client footprint. These were clients since 1995, and I was desperately afraid they went to a competitor. But I didn't know for sure. And the more I thought about it (remember that I have anxiety issues), the more uneasy I became.
I didn't get coached. I was just uncomfortable enough to get off my ass and do something. You know? The way I figured, I just lost $50k in a maintenance contract and referrals, so what did I have to lose by asking them why they made their decision?
I asked all 3 manager/directors, and I heard back from all 3 very quickly. But like I said, I was determined to listen no matter how unpleasant it might be. At least I got great reviews....
When I hung up, I thought, "well, [censored]. Now what? How am I going to come up with more clients quickly to make up for that lost revenue?" For some reason, I didn't enter the anxiety zone. I kind of went calm and said to myself, " well, nature abhors a vacuum, so something else will come along." I sell capital equipment in call centers, and the sales cycle is typically 12-18 months because getting the money requires putting it in the budget, justifying the purchase and then waiting for approval. Sometimes, the pipeline completely gets washed up, and sometimes I'm lucky to hit it at the right time. That's the exception rather than the rule, though.
It wasn't 2 days later when I got a call from VZ. It was for one site in Pittsburgh only, but a healthy sale nonetheless. It got approved in less than 24 hours! A couple weeks later, I got word that there are 3. I'm making up that $50k and doubling it. Then we have the opportunity for other cities after these projects are complete.
So I kinda feel the reward was in the willingness to move past the fear and learn?
Come whine with me. I can handle it, and I'll coach you if you need it.
Discomfort is a powerful motivator? Clearly losing income had a lot to do with it... Plus the thought of them going to a competitor made me ill. I just had to know why, if it was the case.
Don't be hard on yourself. A couple of years ago, I would have pretended it didn't matter and stuck my head in the sand. I think after a miserable couple years in business just made me sick of losing more than I already had...
Good luck!
Betsey
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
