• August 26, 2021

7 Things Salespeople Do After They Lose a Deal

Of all the difficult aspects of sales, losing a deal might be ranked somewhere near the top. There’s almost nothing worse than spending weeks (or months) working with a prospect, answering questions, creating presentations, and doing tons of legwork only to have them back out at the last minute with a short apology note (if you’re lucky).

But if you work in sales for any significant period of time, you’ll know that this type of tragedy simply comes with the territory. No deal is final until the ink on the contract is dry, and the rescission period has expired. That’s why experienced sales reps know not to count their chickens before they hatch, and understand that they’re likely to lose deals no matter how promising they might seem.

So what happens to salespeople when they lose a deal? It can vary from person to person, but the reaction usually goes something like this:

1. They feel the sting of rejection 

The pain is sharp, deep, and unexpected.

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2. They put their face in their hands for an entire minute 

Coworkers know not to ask what’s wrong — it’s already obvious.

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3. They get mad at the prospect

Why would they waste months of my time if they knew they were just going to back out?

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4. They get mad at themselves 

“I shouldn’t have tried to upsell them. The basic package would’ve been fine.”

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5. They recalculate their commission check 

Looks like the next check got cut by about 40%.

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6. They go to the break room and eat a treat 

A Snickers might provide some much needed happiness.

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7. They get back on the phone 

Oh well. Time to move onto the next one!

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