354 Recognising Non-Clients

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang= "EN-US">Salespeople are always desperate to make a sale.  There are targets, quotas, KPIs aplenty and the pressure is unrelenting.  When you are in a downturn, a recession, a pandemic etc., which are driving down sales, the desperation becomes even more intense.  Getting meetings at all is considered a win and we go for it, regardless of whether the buyer is qualified or not.  Telling your Sales Manager you are seeing a potential buyer feels a lot better than telling them you are seeing no one and a five percent chance of a deal is more attractive than a zero percent chance.  Self-delusion is like a balm in tough times.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang= "EN-US">Desperation tends to drive bad behaviour and deals are done which shouldn’t be attempted.  Long-term reputations are sacrificed on the altar of short-term gains.  We push clients into buying things they shouldn’t buy, knowing it won’t deliver the outcomes they seek.  We celebrate in the short-term about getting some numbers on the board and we regret what we have done at leisure.  Trust and reputation in sales are worth a fortune, but we can squander that fortune through bad choices.  Once the word gets out that you cannot be trusted then the end is nigh for your sales career.  The social media world has sped up the revelations about untrustworthy behaviour and bad news travels at internet light speed.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US">Badly behaved salespeople will move around from one firm to another, but the stench follows them and eventually they have to move again and again until they run out of runway and have to depart Dodge.  These are the people who make the profession so difficult for the rest of us.  When we meet clients they have that fear that we are a loser and we will dud them, so eager to part them from their company’s money.  B2B buyers are worried about the long-term impact on their careers, rather than just the amount of money w