Never Let It Slide

Around 2016 I overheard a well-paid salesperson take ‘blame’ for something that was not their fault.

They’d let the prospect off the hook for messing up on organising a meeting.

I had recently seen the first season of Billions.

I recounted the above scene from it. Where the public prosecutor confronts a Lower Manhattan dog walker who shamefully doesn’t clean up after his pet does their business on the street.

“Let it slide!”

The lawyer went crazy. Never let anything slide, no matter how small. Else you’ll end up in awful, ahem, trouble.

I tried to pass on my own learning when a cubrep.

There was a mess-up over some information being sent back and forth.

The prospect made like they were not culpable.

That was dishonest.

They had to be made aware.

My side we discussed it as a team.

I went back and explained, firmly but politely, that it was not down to any error on my part.

The relationship changed in that instant.

In part, what Miller-Heiman may have grouped into “cordial ruthlessness”.

There’s a lot of talk about ‘losing face’. Especially when dealing with non-Anglosphere cultures.

Salespeople scared into not wanting to ‘show up’ a prospect.

Yet a fib is a fib. And once got away with, problems can mushroom.

To challenge puts you on a level. A seller is not subservient to a buyer. If your buyer thinks that ought be the case, you really are best not selling to them.

In my case, whilst the prospect came across at first as affronted, a respect did emerge.

I was reminded of this when being shown this tweet.

My lawyer has always advised me, if you let something stand unchallenged then that becomes a strong point. Even if people talk nonsense I intend to call them out for it. https://t.co/LVWUD2khtQ

— Rod MacPhail (@rodcampsbay) October 21, 2020

That lawyer talked sense;

‘if you let something stand unchallenged then that becomes a strong point’

Never let anything stand unchallenged on a bid that you know not to be right.

Honesty is the best policy. Stand up for yourself. And you’ll win more in the long run.