Once, we were invited to pitch for some business and made it all the way till the final round.
Things looked in our favor!
Just when we were waiting for the purchase order after a month-long pitch…
We were informed that a supplier that was not even in the pitch process would be awarded the business.
Apparently he was a friend of the CEO.
My team came frustrated and started blaming the CEO for the unethical decision.
It was true that the behavior of the company was unprincipled.
But I realized:
1) Sales process is combination of (a) Building Trust with Client & (b) Having a Confident Mindset!
If you have one and lack the other, the sales process always suffers.
2) Trust can beat relationships, products, pitches etc. any day!
3) Sales is not a numbers game, your strike rate depends on the trust created thru authenticity with the client –
In this case, I feel client trusted his friend to deliver better than us.
Sometimes thinking over your losses can teach you more than your wins.
