“I’m winning, and I don’t intend on losing again!”
– Santana, 1980
I hate losing.
Especially when the loss was out of my control.
Having your strategy turned down by a client
For reasons other than the strategy itself –
Incredibly frustrating.
I’ve heard all the reasons –
Cost, experience,
Previous client relationships,
Mercury in retrograde…
[That’s not even the strangest one]
Or worse, no reason at all.
It’s hard not to internalize losses,
The time, energy, and effort you devote to them,
But with a proactive mindset,
They offer you new avenues to reassess your strategies.
For example,
If you lose on cost, get answers [as best you can] to questions like:
1. How were our price points compared to the competitors’ bids?
2. Was it a client that was “too small” or “too large” (in resources or personnel) for what we offer?
3. Was the client expecting a different delivery structure or services?
4. Were there areas where we could have communicated more about cost expectations?
And then, get the rubber to meet the road!
Work with your financial experts to build greater efficiency,
Ready to use with the next strategy you develop.
If you lose on a client’s previous relationships, find out:
1. How can we bridge gaps internally for future work? Can we make additional linkages within the client?
2. Do we need to expand our partnerships to include those more familiar to the client?
3. Do we need more visibility (more conferences, more presentations, etc)?
4. Do we need more word of mouth to highlight our expertise, value, or knowledge?
Depending on the answer, expand your offering.
Drive and support sales, executives, and other teams as needed to
Build a larger partnership and relationship network,
And with it your client pool.
It sucks, but
Losses make sure you’re never satisfied,
Or resting on your laurels.
Take every loss and build off them,
Strengthen your future strategies
And drive your company to be as competitive as possible.
