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Short of a Mack Truck: Keep Your Aches and Pains to Yourself

Guest post by: Linda Richardson

Article Overview: Short of being hit with a Mac truck, when you get to your client meeting, avoid telling a client about personal daily woes, particularly as an excuse for not performing.

Short of a Mack Truck: Keep Your Aches and Pains to Yourself

Short of being hit with a Mac truck, when you get to your client meeting, avoid telling a client about personal daily woes, particularly as an excuse for not performing. One salesperson shook the confidence his client had in him and his ability to deliver when the salesperson explained that his reason for being a bit late for an important meeting was a backache.

One might think that a client, especially a nice client like this one who was thoughtful and a pleasure to work with, would empathize. Perhaps, the client did. But the client\\\'s overriding reaction was self-focused: Will this reduce the salesperson\\\'s impact during the meeting with her senior team? Worse yet, they think \\\"And we get less than we otherwise would ...\\\" When you reveal a personal problem or make excuses about obstacles, whether an ailment or bad traffic, you introduce an unnecessary usually negative. Some nice clients might feel guilty even though it isn\\\'t their fault, but most will also focus on the impact on them and the potential to get shortchanged.

Most clients will not share these feelings for a number of reasons, not the least of which is they need you to perform there and then. But your disclosures may count as a strike against you. Indirect signs of woes, such as taking aspirin, stretching to heal that aching back, looking gloomy, etc., all communicate a message that you are less than 100% and are as equally destructive to the client\\\'s feeling he/she can count on you. If you are truly sick, stay home. If not, grin and bear it. Tell your family, friends, even your colleagues at work your woes, but NOT your clients.

This may sound harsh. When I discussed this with a friend, she said, \\\"It\\\'s a sick world.\\\" Maybe so. Maybe in an ideal world there would be empathy for your problems, but most of the time \\\"business is business.\\\" Certainly true friendships do develop with clients - sometimes lifetime. Everyone feels pressured. Certainly, you can at times have a heart to heart on a personal problem about yourself with that special client - but this is the exception, not the rule.

For the most part, even with friends in the business arena, there is a line not to be crossed. Even with that special client - the best clients who really care about you - the client must feel you can perform. Anytime you cause their confidence to be shaken, it may only add to your woes!

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Article Tags: Linda Richardson, Sales Tips, Sales Training



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