Best Advice: When Your Competition Gives Up, That’s Your Chance to Shine

In this series, professionals share the words of wisdom that made all the difference in their lives. Follow the stories here and write your own (please include the hashtag #BestAdvice in the body of your post).

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and will always solve the problem of the human race.”

President Calvin Coolidge’s famous views on persistence were first printed in a pamphlet by the New York Life Insurance Co. in the 1930s. For over 80 years, it has appeared on countless “Best Quote” lists and been touted as inspirational and true by everyone from teachers to political leaders to business CEOs. I am one of them.

I’ve spoken often about the beginnings of my company, Ovation Travel Group. In 1984, I left my career as a lawyer to take over my father’s small, struggling travel agency. Besieged by bills we could not pay and employees that had stolen from us, we were advised to file for bankruptcy. I did not – I put my head down and worked, and today, Ovation is the fifth largest travel management in the country by sales volume (according to Business Travel News 2014). I am often asked about the time period between potential bankruptcy and award-winning, successful company, and the secret to the turnaround. I like to say that, for me, there was a special na?veté and stubbornness that came with being 27 years old. I was young and did not know the obstacles in front of me, and my solution was to simply ignore everyone who said I could not do it and work hard. But there was another component at work that has continued to work as a business strategy for over 30 years: persistence and optimism.

It took years before we won our first big account. Many times it’s “Dialing for Dollars” like telemarketers do, and having to deal with initial, almost constant rejection. But you can always count on competitors — in life or some other capacity — giving up eventually. If you hang in there long enough and keep going like the Energizer Bunny, eventually something will happen. Do not give up, as you will eventually come to be in the right place at the right time. Use the opportunity, and you will succeed.

Around 25 years ago there was a very high-profile law firm that we were trying to bring on board as a client. I had a meeting with an administrator. Then, I had an unexpected, additional 10 minutes with a very tough senior partner of the firm all by myself. He had a rather gruff demeanor and asked, “Why should we hire you?” Summoning all the courage I could muster, I answered that, being a lawyer myself, we were in a special position to understand lawyers, what their special travel needs are, how their plans change, and the services we had in place to support those needs.

I thought I did a great job convincing him of the worth of our services, but then he abruptly dismissed me from the meeting. As it so happens, the next morning I was on a flight to Washington. I go to my seat, and who is sitting across the aisle from me but that same senior partner. Instead of letting things go, I went right up to him, (re)introduced myself, and said, “You met me yesterday and you asked us what’s so special about our company. Well, if you hire us, as the president of the company, every time you fly somewhere I am going to sit across from you just to make sure your travel goes smoothly.” Of course he cracked up and we got the account, and I believe it happened because I was persistent and able to take advantage of a fortuitous opportunity.

The truth is that many of the large clients we have today — some of which we have had for decades — we did not win the first time around. We would try with a sales meeting or with an RFP and invariably we’d lose the first time and sometimes even the second time. It can be disappointing not to get a client after a bid, and the sales team will say, “Oh, we’ve lost.” In my view, as I tell them repeatedly: “That’s not the right way to look at it. We did not lose. We just didn’t win this client yet.” It does not matter that we lost once, we still keep at it. In sales, it is all about being present and being an alternative. At some point, your competitor is going to slip up, make some mistake, pricing may not be right, promises may not be fulfilled — it could be anything. If you are persistent, you can continue to position yourself as the number two alternative, and, invariably, someone is going to remember and re-evaluate the reason you were not picked in the first place.

The same advice has been true with the travel industry as a whole. We have been through gulf wars, the global financial crisis, Hurricane Sandy, and the Ebola epidemic, just to name a few obstacles. Persistence and a positive outlook is what has gotten us through. When any kind of setback or loss happens, ask yourself: “What can I learn from this? What new direction do I need to explore?”

Whenever something bad happens, my instinct is always to look on the bright side. Ovation gains and retains a lot of clients, but sometimes there are losses as well. I say, “Oh, we lost this client, but maybe we can find out the reason for this loss, and use it as a means to strengthen the DNA of our company.”

And never count out the value of serendipity: after all, you never know who you may run into on your next flight.