Eleven Ways to React When You Lose the Sale

Everyone loses a sale now and again. It’s the nature of selling. Heck, in my career I’ve lost more sales than I can count.

But the way you react to losing a sale impacts how well you do on your next sales opportunity. And all your future opportunities.

With that in mind, here are eleven different ways you might react to losing a sale:

1. Bitch about it to anyone who will listen

2. Quit work early and go get drunk

3. Blame everyone and everything else

4. Get terribly depressed

5. Bemoan how stupid the buyer is

6. Curse your deity of choice

7. Give up

8. Complain to your boss that you can’t compete because your product/service isn’t good enough and/or it’s too expensive

9. Accept it and move on

10. Congratulate the buyer, wish them success, and let them know you’d still love to serve them in the future

11. Analyze your actions to determine if there’s anything you could do differently or better next time

Each of these is an understandable reaction. But only three are useful to you. And only two of those will help you close more sales in the future. I’ll let you figure out which those are. You’re pretty smart.