The Frustrated Sales Man

5 days on and John had not gotten an answer from the the client he presented to the week before. He did everything that was required of him. He followed the sales pitch correctly, asked the right open questions, gained their interest and finally asked for the order. He was now waiting for the phone call of a life time. The “Yes John, we’ll fax over the booking form in a minute” call.

It was going to be John’s 200th deal and probably the biggest one to date. Worth a whopping £36,000,000 contract for the next three years, he would be set for life and known as the UK’s most results driven and highly successful corporate sales director. It had to be a deal. They had to sign the contract. This was his life. It was going to change his life forever. It would make him a star. For the first time in 25 years, he looked into the heavens and called the name of God; “Make them sign the contract. Do this and I will never lie again, except when I sell again. This exception you must allow.“ John prayed as he engaged in a dialogue between himself and his long lost creator. He was told that he would get an answer within 4 - 5 day. 5 days on, almost 4;30pm and still no answer.

With deals like these, once you’ve given the price and gained a certain level of commitment, you have to step back and maintain the silence quo, making sure that you; the seller is not responsible for breaking it. It could mean the difference between sounding and coming across desperate which devalues your product or increasing the value of your product by making the other party feel lucky to be doing business with you. You want them to think that although their business is important to you, you are not reliant on them to succeed. You have hundreds of highly credible clients in need of your ongoing support.

John’s impatience and lack of self control was beginning to weigh him down. Anxiety was overwhelming him and he was feeling insecure about the deal. This caused him to act irrationally.

This is what happens to us when we focus on self and not on others. John was about to lose a contract that took 2 years of nurturing, in literally minutes. He was going to pick up the phone and try bullying them into signing a deal. His emotional and mental state was becoming unstable and unpredictable. There was no telling what he would say or do because of how desperate and frustrated he was. Frustration is a warning signal. Your decisions and actions based on your current frustration is what delivers either positive or negative result. It’s okay to get frustrated sometimes, how you react to it is what makes the major difference. if John’s frustration was based on how this contract would benefit the client, then the fact that the client is delaying the project could be explained as a loss of valuable resources and business opportunities for the client. The client is then bound to see this as a selfless act and will value your business a lot more because of this. On the other hand, if John’s frustration is about getting the deal because of his own needs without considering the needs of the client, it becomes transparent and the client picks up on this as well. As a result, they feel John is just trying to sell the contract and make some extra money. This obviously does not benefit the client and they walk away from the deal never to return to the meeting table again.

Make sure your frustrations are based on making a positive change. It’s a good feeling and most times, you’ll find others willing to support and help you. When your frustrations are based on self-preservation and selfish gains, there is a high chance you will end up frustrating others and making no progress at all.

Want to know what happened to John’s contract? John is you. Knowing what you now know, what would you do?

Step 1

find the source of your frustration.

Step 2

establish the state of your frustration - is it negative or positive.

Step 3

look into the future - what would be the end result of staying frustrated.

Step 4

is it worth your time.

Step 5

Act on your analysis as long as it’s end results are not selfish.

Step 6

Learn from your experience

Step 7

Take the necessary precautions to prevent it happening again

You start to overcome a frustrated life when what’s inside of you starts to change what you don’t like outside of you.

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