Let it Be and Move On

When we get emotionally invested in our customers there come times when we are called to forgiveness.

I know a sales guy who is steaming because a C-Level customer played him like a fish with promises of future business, never signed.  Word got out that other companies were favoured and the sales guy couldn't get Mr. CEO on the phone.  My sales buddy was under pressure at home office for the promised deal.  Desperate, one day he dropped into CEO's office and watched him squirm around the "it just happened" and "next time" and "future considerations" potty dance.

That doesn't bother my friend.  It's the constant reminders that Mr. CEO is considered a leader in his industry.  Every publication he picks up has yet another validation of Mr. CEO's astuteness and professionalism, and my friend has experience otherwise.

It could have been a one-time thing, and my sales guy buddy has to let it go and move on.  It could be an ongoing issue, and my sales guy buddy has to let it be and move on.  Forgive, but don't forget.  There but for the grace of God, go I - the shoe could well one day be on the other foot.  Mr. Sales Guy may one day lose the trust of a client because of something stupid.  Truth be told, he probably already has (haven't we all done something stupid?)

As for the integrity of Mr. CEO and his public persona; I'm not ready to switch religions but I do like this quote: 

"Three things cannot long be hidden - the sun, the moon and the truth."  Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C