It's not too late to go back

At a recent meeting, one of our clients shared a story that I found encouraging and inspirational. He is a young salesperson who is really learning the system. He was working with a client he knows well. In the course of their conversation they asked for a ball park figure for a new server (they sell computer solutions). He made the comment that he just put a similar one in another client's office for $4,000. They said great, get us one. When this young buck went back to the office he found out the real solution was going to cost more like $9,000. He was not sure what to do next. After sharing his story with our group, we encouraged him to go back and fall on the sword.

The following week he came back to our meeting. He was sitting on the edge of his seat. You could see he could not wait to tell us how the appointment went. He shared with us that he went back to his client and told them he made a mistake and needed to talk with them. When this event was all said and done he not only got $9,000 for the server they set aside $10,000 for maintenance cost. He behaved when it was tough and it paid off. So what did he learn:

• He figured out that he has "money" issues and that his clients don't mind spending money for a good solution.
• He was vulnerable and teachable and was able to really learn from this experience and through that teach to the group.
• The group worked as a team to problem solve and further demonstrate that if you fall on your sword, you will be rescued.
  
• He learned not all customers are the same, not all solutions are the same and he needs to slow down to speed up.
• He learned there is more to learn and is back at our latest QuickStart and is focused on learning the effective use of Up Front Contracts.

I see a lot of growth in him and know that in a year or two, if he continues on this path, he will be an amazing professional salesperson.