I’m not suddenly Buddhist. I’m just an observer and I’ve seen karma in action within sales. Or maybe it’s just human behavior in its most natural form… you be the judge of it.
I had recently delivered three or four proposals to prospective clients and had had no answer in weeks. So I was kind of edgy. Whenever I would nudge them I would get an elusive nudge-back or no answer at all. I then proceeded in a George Costanza like manner to rant about the status of society and how we don’t care about one another. Until I had one of those introspective moments I seldom have and asked myself: “What do YOU do in these situations?”.
Then I remembered the four or five prospective offices I was considering when we were office hunting and noticed how once I decided in favor of one I never took the time to contact the real estate agents for the remaining 4. They were so used to the situation they did not even bother re-contacting me, except for one to whom I politely told I decided to go with a different option and another who spams me on a regular basis with offers of just about anything from offices to condos to viagra. I guess I deserve it.
So… what to do about this? Two things to improve the sales ecosystem and beat karma:
1. Feedback pull: Demand to know what happened with your proposal to those who have it in their desks.
2. Feedback push: Be considerate of people who are expecting your answer and provide it.
This is what Michael Jackson aptly referred to as “starting with the man in the mirror.” Think of it as your little contribution towards making this a better world for all of us involved in sales.
El Shuje
On my next post I will put you to sleep with paragraph upon paragraph of boring stuff. Then I will steal your TVs.
Posted by shuje 
