Is Your Business Haunted?

I’d say the chances are pretty good that you are, in fact, haunted.

Here’s why.

You might have heard me talk about how I think that a salesperson who uses discounts to land business is a bad salesperson.

This is another reason why.

Consider this story.

A sales person signs on a client below the company’s minimums to put numbers on the board.

They get handed off to delivery.

Delivery says:

“they are always going out of scope and want detailed reporting that doesn’t follow our usual templates”

and. . .

“With refreshing posts 4-5 times a week, in-depth reporting, and having to create new campaigns based on their goals we almost always go over hours and out of scope. Past strategists have done things out of scope so now they are requesting things and getting upset if we push back ??”

Which translates to:

“they waste our time, demand more than they’re paying for, and are constantly unhappy.”

It’s bad on multiple levels.

Then, a year goes by.

The original sales person is gone (remember they were bad at their job).

And the client tells their contact that they want that same bad-for-the-company deal.

So delivery comes back to sales telling them to draw up another agreement for the same bad deal.

This is the result of delivery not having solid negotiation skills (and the ability to say “no” when it’s a fully legitimate situation for it).

Now the team spends even more time talking through whether to keep them on board or to let them go.

And if the agency is billing at $150/hour, that time spent talking about this problem client adds up to hours NOT SPENT on helping great clients.

It’s another double whammy.

Lack of “soft skills” will come back to haunt your business.

The sales team makes a bad call and that one decision now cascades through the entire organization. The problem is compounded by the delivery team not having the negotiation skills to make the call that’s best for the company.

If that describes your organization, you need a ghost buster, stat.

Or maybe even an exorcist.

(That’s me.)

Best thoughts,

~Jonathan “Who you gonna call” Pritchard

?? Jonathan Pritchard is a mentalist-turned-consultant & the founder of ZAVANT enterprises , Academy of Applied Mentalism , & ROI Trade Shows .

Each project helps clients have more successful businesses through the power of better communication skills. He’s also the author of several books focused on the power of applied psychology, memory, and motivation.

Connect with him on Twitter and YouTube for more behind-the-scenes stories from the road & boardrooms across the world.