Surface Ripples

Turning Down Business

I never thought it would happen, but I’ve had to turn down business that I knew I was capable of delivering and delivering well

We’re all in business to provide goods or services to our customers and make money.  So, what went wrong, you may ask.   One of the skills a previous manager of mine had was to be able to ‘feel’ when something wasn’t right about new business on offer.  Of course, it wasn’t a ‘gut feeling’ but more like a premonition based on past experiences of similar situations, the way they worked out, and what his innate intelligence were telling him.  In the case he and I discussed all those years ago, it turned out that he was right.  We heard that a competitor had taken on the business and things hadn’t gone well.

As we learn through experience, we subconsciously store away memories of what happened, anecdotes from our peers, friends and others and perhaps even expectations derived from our upbringing or education.  All these combine to give us a ‘filter’ of which we remain unaware most of the time, but which is constantly operating in the background.  Most of the time, it’s right.

It is this filter of experience and intuition that sets our antennae tingling when triggered by certain actions or events.  In my own case, the signals I was getting from the prospective client were, at best, mixed.  Some were just unfavourable, and, in the end, I realised that I wasn’t going to feel comfortable dealing with this sort of client.  A competitor might, and I have no problem with that. 

I feel, though, that I did the right thing for both the client and myself by cutting the deal loose in the early stages of negotiations before either of us committed to something we both might regret.  This was another alert to me: I was uncomfortable almost from the start and have no regrets over the decision.  Time will tell if I was right.  

The key is to develop our intuition as business owners: listen to what our ‘gut’ tells us and then see if it turned out to be right. (and, if so, why).  

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

Labels: Customer Care, Risk, Selling

posted by William Martin @ 08:51