Fishermen love to talk about “the one that got away.” Salespeople don’t.

The key to dealing with a lost sale: acknowledge it — instead of repressing your pain and doubts, catharsis enables you to let go of your negative thoughts and feelings.

Once you’ve done that, here are four tips to help you get back on the horse:

1. Talk to other salespeople who have been in the same situation. Sharing your experience and venting your frustrations will help you get back on your feet. There’s always tomorrow, next week, next month, next quarter and next year to turn things around.
2. Try to pinpoint what may have gone wrong. Look at your approach, strategies, strengths and weaknesses. Successful salespeople who are able to overcome lost sales recognize that selling is a process and not an event. They recognize that the key to getting back on track is maintaining a positive attitude, prospecting effectively, tailoring presentations and offering great after-sales service.
3. Visualize a successful outcome before you make your next call. This is a good time to run through your entire presentation in your mind. Review steps you’re going to take and the points you want to make. Picture yourself coming up with new benefits as you learn more about your prospect’s needs.
4. Qualify up front. Maybe you lost that last sale because you didn’t spend enough time qualifying the former prospect. A standardized set of qualifying questions can often alleviate any doubts about the prospect’s qualifications. The time it takes to qualify a prospect is nothing compared to the time that may be wasted on a prospect who has no need for your product or service.

Tags: coping, dealing with a lost sale, presentation, tips