You Can't Win Them All

As an ethical business owner, you try to provide the best product and service you can to all your clients and potential clients.

If you are a sales person (a good one) you'll do the same.

Every day, I have to remind myself that sometimes that is just not possible.

The key to success, in my opinion, to any business is appropriately understanding when to be willing to lose. You have to be willing to understand that you can't (and shouldn't) win them all.

Two and a half years ago, before I started Tribute Media, I wrote a simple blog post on the concept that if you try to be everything to everyone you'll end up being nothing to no one (I know the grammar problem... but you can read the post here.)

The challenge for a business owner with everything on the line (the same goes for a salesman trying to make a commission) is to remember that it is okay to say no. It is okay to lose a deal once in a while.

I am not suggesting that you go out of your way to lose a deal. What I am saying is if the deal doesn't work for your company, you need to be willing to walk away.

As a simple example...

Last year we were offered the opportunity to create a website that just didn't sit well with a number of our staff. We were in a very tight cash crunch and this deal promised to be very profitable. It didn't sit well because the website didn't fit with our moral standards.

In the end, we had to say no. The client was not happy with us. They had no place else to go to complete the project. They offered us more money and we still turned them down.

Sometimes the decision is a little easier... like a project that goes against your moral conviction. Many times, the decision isn't as easy because you just have a gut feeling that the customer will never be happy with what you can do for him and sometimes you just know that you will run into problem after problem.

Don't be afraid to be content to lose. Don't be afraid to walk away. Don't be afraid to choose the business that makes sense for you.

It may be hard in the short term, but I promise, it will be much better for you long term.