Years ago, the president of a label company was bemoaning the fact they had just lost a huge account. It was easily $2 million a year and he was worried about the hole it left in production.
But then, he went on to tell me what terrible customers they were. Not only were they picky beyond any level of reason-ability, they were horrendously slow payers and would challenge previously agreed-upon charges many months later before agreeing to pay a lower amount than what was owed.
I knew he didn’t want to hear this, but I have a rule that if you ask my opinion, you need to be prepared for the answer. I told him it was a good thing that business was gone, regardless of the dollar amount. Now, he could replace it with better and more profitable business from better and more loyal and reasonable customers.
And he did.
The stages of grief that come from losing an account start with the kind of agony that comes from being punched in the financial gut and ends with the hope that some good will come from it.
You can’t be in sales and not have a large account walk away. Maybe you lost it on price or service. Maybe they moved from the area or were bought out. You might not be able to see it in the moment, but you have the opportunity to replace bad business with good business.
The best part of losing an account doesn’t come for quite a while, but it will and you will be better for it.
Try to remember that the next time it happens and you are bent over gasping for financial air.
