With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to share three of my all time favorite scary sales nightmares. As everyone knows, 2009 has been pretty frightful for most in the business community due to the slow economy; but these sales horror stories can’t be blamed on the recession. These are the tales of the Jekyll/Hyde potential that lurks within all sales professions. Enjoy!
1) The Case of the Haunted Computer: A sales professional showed up to a VERY important sales presentation with a spiffy, hot, guaranteed to get the business PowerPoint presentation, all teed up and ready to rock. He had not spent a ton of time rehearsing the presentation, but was supremely confident he would shine when he stood up in front of the client. One problem he hadn’t counted on was his computer failing to boot up in the client’s office. There he stood with no presentation, very light on additional support materials, trying to “wing it” in front of his prospective clients. Prospective turned out to be the key word, since he never recovered from the initial computer crash and failed to win the business. For more on avoiding frightful PowerPoint disasters see the blog “5Ways to Avoid Death by PowerPoint”.
2) The Case of the Disappearing Client: Are you in touch with your customers? Here’s a dreaded tale (perhaps the worst case scenario) of what can happen if you fail to keep up with current events within your client organizations. Joe the sales professional had a very important meeting in Los Angeles with a new division of a long time customer. He had never met the leader of this division but was on his way to meet for the first time and explore a rather significant opportunity. He landed in plenty of time, picked up the rental car without a hitch, and even stopped for a bite of lunch since he was running a little ahead of schedule for the meeting. He parked in his usual spot at the client’s office and took the familiar ride in the elevator to the customer’s floor, right on schedule. When the door opened he got the fright of his life! To his horror, he discovered a stripped out, vacant area with cables hanging down from the ceiling. The client had moved and the sales rep wasn’t even aware of it. A frantic (and embarrassing) call was made to the client and a new call scheduled due to the distance to their new offices. He got off on the wrong foot with the new division head, but learned an important lesson from a mistake that won’t be repeated. For more on the dangers getting trapped in your own operating reality check out the blog “What are Your Odds”.
3) The Case of the Phantom Sales Call: A sales person had a very important sales call in Chicago. He was one of four finalists from a previously submitted RFP and was making his presentation to the executive committee of the client, along with three of his most ardent rivals. It was a significant deal and he had 90 minutes to make the case as to why his company was the right choice. He did his research, he put together and rehearsed his presentation and he even bought a new suit for the occasion. He was ready. He flew into Chicago the night before the meeting just to eliminate any chance for travel delay complications. He even stayed at a hotel within line of sight of his client’s corporate office. He was ready! Imagine his horror when he showed up at the client’s offices for his designated presentation time only to discover the call had actually been the previous day! All the decision makers had boarded planes and left town leaving the decision for a large piece of business to be decided between three competitors instead of four. The sales person made a horrible impression simply because he had confused the day he had decided to fly in with the day of the actual appointment. For additional insight into the power of lasting impression read the blog “First Impressions Sell”.
The thing about scary stories… if they’re someone else’s tale, they’re entertaining. When they happen to you, they’re horrifying. These three tales of woe and horror from the world of sales all had one thing in common — they were completely avoidable. The moral of this story? Make sure you have the basics covered (like the time and place of your appointment) and leave nothing to chance. It seems so obvious; but how many of us can claim we haven’t lost business or at least undercut our own efforts by not attending to some small, basic detail? Plan for the worst, prepare for the best, and make sure to check your address book and date book carefully. Happy Halloween!
Chuck Terry is the Executive Vice President and CSO of Carew International and is regular contributor to Carew’s blog – Executive Insights
Carew International is a leader in sales training and leadership development; specializing in comprehensive, proven training programs for sales, sales management and customer service excellence. For over 30 years, Carew has earned its reputation of delivering increased productivity and profitability to our valued clients world wide.
