It sucks to lose a sale. Especially one you were sure was going to close. Maybe you had even counted it towards your quota as a done-deal. Ugh!

This happened to me a while back – and it nearly killed my year. Luckily, after I absorbed the shock, I went on a hunt for gold. The gold in the lost sale, that is. End of the story? I closed FOUR big deals out of what I learned! Year saved!

Here are the 10 ways to finding hidden GOLD in the lost sale:

FIRST, a couple of reminders:

1. EVERYONE loses sales

 Yep! Even The Irreverent Sales Girl loses sales. Chuck Norris, maybe not, but I digress. If you think you cannot lose, and then you lose, you are lost. Learn from it! (What else are you gonna do? Sulk?) 

2. There is danger lurking in them thar lost sales

When I am attached to a sale, I give it my all, and then I lose it, the danger is that I will lose confidence. Confidence is everything. I must protect my emotional state. I must never sacrifice my success over any single account. 

Now, a bunch of questions:

3. Why do you think the customer should have bought?

When I looked at this question,  I started to see that I was not un-covering my customer’s real requirements. I was going off of what I thought they should have, not what they thought they should have. Arrogant. 

4. What is the real reason the customer did not buy?

In this case, the real reason was that the decision-makers felt they required things we did not offer. So, even though my contact wanted to buy, I did not give her all the ammo she needed to address her leadership’s concerns. And, I did not offer to make myself available to the execs. And, I did not figure out who all the decision-makers were. My bad.

5. Where were you responsible for the loss?

 Somewhere along the way, I relied on how other similar deals had closed and did not catch what was happening now, with them. In my case, it was arrogance and lazy-work. You will have to look for yourself.

6. Who can help you reflect on the lost sale to find the gold in your current pipeline?

I know some killer salespeople. My favorite is Norm Christian. When I lost this sale, I called him and he took me through each of the other steps. So, Norm, you are my official sixth step – thank goodness for you! HINT: You will never see it all on your own. Get perspective from a trusted someone-else.

7. What other customers should you now reach out to?

Once I reflected on the lost sale, I saw the exact same thing was happening with other customers. When I investigated, I found five other accounts in a similar situation. I phoned them immediately. One even closed right away – because I nailed the exact thing that was keeping them from buying. BAM!

8. Who else can talk to your at-risk prospects?

Once I identified the at-risk customers, I called one of my prospects’ consultants (who was helping with the buying decision). I laid out the misconception my lost-sale customer had and asked their opinion, “Does the same problem apply to my prospect?” They saw the issue and they called the client. Coming from the consultant, the message had much more street cred. We won the business!

9. What should you communicate to your at-risk prospects and how?

I simply phoned my at-risk accounts and said, “In a conversation with another customer today, I discovered they were dealing with this-and-such issue, and I thought of you. Are you dealing with that, too?”  For a couple of them, I had nailed it, and we worked through it. With three of them, it was not their issue, but they opened up and told me concerns I had not yet heard. A salesperson’s dream! Hint: Pick up the phone!

10. What can you now provide to help your prospect get what they want?

Based on the newly-discovered information your customer has shared, you have many arrows in your quiver. You can offer a new demonstration tailored to the new specific concerns. You can provide a reference to a happy customer who used to deal with the same thing (until you came along). You can provide examples of how your clients have overcome similar problems. Be bold, helpful, and creative!

Why does gold digging ensure your long-term success?

When I took these steps, I accomplished (at least) three important things:

• I became a valuable resource to my customers. My reputation as an advisor soared – leading to referrals and new business.
• I found new (and helpful) reasons to get in touch with other prospects, forcing me to not dwell on the loss and get in action, instead.
• I protected my emotional state. The single most important thing a salesperson must do.

Let’s go gold digging, shall we?

Bringing a Dash of Dignity, Adventure, and Poise to the Art of Selling, The Irreverent Sales Girl encourages her clients to seek new horizons and honor their own muse. She offers compelling messages that remind you of who you are and what is possible; a message of hope, challenge, and new thinking – just when you needed it most.

Image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/span112/

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