Selling to Zebras Blog » Blog Archive

Losing in overtime…

November 4, 2008, 8:16 AM

overtime_loss Well, election day has finally arrived, so one would expect that I’d probably seek to tie in my blog to the most current event of the day: McCain vs. Obama

However, for some reason this Tuesday, I’m still dwelling on the agony that resulted from the overtime loss in a different match up this past weekend: my Green Bay Packers vs. the still undefeated Tennessee Titans

Yes indeed, losing hurts… but nothing hurts more than a loss in overtime. My losing Green Bay Packers put forth the same amount of effort as did the victorious Tennessee Titans, but in the end they came away with no reward. The Packers must now put that loss behind them and turn their focus towards their division rival Minnesota Vikings this coming Sunday, but unfortunately, the Packers did not have a choice as to who they got to play this past Sunday, so they couldn’t simply make the determination that they wanted to invest their time, energy, and resources to winning elsewhere. The good news for you, is that in sales you DO have the freedom to make that choice! (There’s the tie in to election day – freedom to chose… I knew it was in me somewhere!)

Nothing hurts in sales more than finishing in second place, especially in “overtime.” At this point you have invested all of the same scarce resources available to you as your competition does in trying to win the deal, but if you finish in second, there is no reward for you at the end of the game.

The sales moral of the story: Learn and practice the discipline to pursue only prospects that are Zebras. If at any point you find that a prospect that you are pursuing is not your Zebra, make the tough decision to walk away and find a prospect that IS a Zebra. This discipline will serve you well in avoiding the even tougher agony and cost of defeat in overtime.