Sales & Revenue

Had a client once, a really promising mid-market company, where I was *sure* we'd close by Q3. I’d spent months building rapport, showcasing value, and I could practically taste the win. Then, a perfectly good sales cycle got derailed because I'd assumed their internal IT project was on a parallel track to our implementation, when in reality, it was a prerequisite. We lost the deal by about a month and a half, and it taught me that understanding *their* entire ecosystem, not just the part I could influence, was critical. It was a tough pill to swallow, but it made me a much more thorough prospector from then on.

The obsession with closing more deals, faster, often blinds us. Here's what the data actually says: our most valuable accounts aren't necessarily those with the highest velocity, but those with the lowest churn and highest lifetime value, which typically requires a slower, more consultative approach. Focus on the *quality* of the relationship, not just the *quantity* of transactions. Change my mind.