Written by: Vickie Sullivan  |  September 03, 2013

A Good Faith Effort

Helped a client through a very tough break up with a key member of his sales team.  Brutal to watch.  Here’s what I learned from a front-row seat to this slow-moving train wreck:  evidence of a good-faith effort defuses disappointing results.

Here’s what happened:  client expected XXX hours “on the phone” selling his speaking.  When sales didn’t materialize, he started to question what was done.  When the evidence of those activities didn’t match the expected hours on the phone, a death spiral quickly grew.

The tragedy here:  evidence of calls made would have kept the relationship alive.  The client knew this effort was a risk.  He was willing to adjust his expectations on results.  What he really wanted to know:  did you do what you promised?

In our business, no one bats a thousand.  Reasonable people understand the inherent risks.  But when you show evidence of what you’ve done, it’s hard to quibble with your services.  This disaster was avoidable.