Why Closing Deals Never Satisfied Anyone

Imagine this. You have a record-setting year. You secure more leads, close more deals than ever before, and add more future revenue to the company through ongoing royalties. Yet, at the end of the year, that thanks only gets you a friendly pat on the butt and a “go do it again next year.”

From leaders to executors, disappointment always ensues when performances are not sustained. Dips in end-of-the-line results quickly eliminate long-term memory of what you have done in the past, how hard you worked to get there and where you were before that process began.

You are only as good as your last deal.

I understand this from both sides.

From the executor standpoint, you are constantly searching for the job well dones. You want praise. And, you want flexibility. You want your leaders to remember that last year you out-produced everyone else. And last year, you added a boat load of deals to the system. And last year, you increased the future revenues with your great work. When the cards don’t land perfectly, it’s not always that you are unmotivated, it is simply that other factors have come into play. Leaders want to be able to point toward one exact measurement (results) when other factors (validation, shifts in the economy, shifts in the marketplace, shifts in your segment, changes in AUV) can quickly derail consistency and progress. When things aren’t rolling, it sucks, because it’s not that you don’t want it to roll, it is that some other block exists.

For leaders (or those at the top), many (some get to where they are because of who they know, not because of what they can do) are never satisfied. They become forever pessimistic in outcomes — always afraid of the deck of cards falling. This is good in that self-motivation is always present. It’s bad in that every executor has to out-perform expectations to remain at the top of the totem pole. Leaders are not necessarily unhappy, disappointed or concerned — they are simply focused on being the best. They are motivated by you being motivated. Expectations will always be unrealistic, but if executors put themselves in leaders’ shoes, they will know why — there is this vision of winning.

In the best organizations, the leaders have grown up from being the executor wearing every hat in the organization. They know what you go through because they have been there, done that. Most likely, they will tell you that they can do your job in an instant, and better. This doesn’t mean they are putting you down, it’s simply their way of saying, “Hey, I get what you are going through and would like you to be motivated to do it better than me.” When the intersection is met with respect, leaders will lead executors and executors will become leaders. When that happens, companies inch from good to great.

Great companies are not afraid of change — in fact, they embrace it — especially when the consistency plan skews a little off track. When bumps in the road occur, innovation, adaptation and separation from the statement “because that’s the way we have always done it” are so vital toward long-term success of businesses and the vision of being the best in whatever category you represent. Not being afraid of change will help executors correct course.

The biggest devil in growth, though, is results. Once the tone is set, it’s hard to get away or change expectations. If you did 10 deals 3 years ago, 15 2 years ago, 20 last year, and then show pace for 17 this year, disappointment shows its ugly head. Even though you have shown growth, the expectations of pessimistic leaders will not align with your results. You will have a little failure tag placed on you. Unfortunately, many in power are half-empty with results. It’s hard to celebrate 17 when you did 20 the year before, even if 17 represents $10M in future royalties. It is simply not good enough because the path changed.

This is hard on executors, because sometimes winning is still losing for those who desperately try to look at results as black and white. This is where you take your talents to South Beach and the leaders are left searching for another silver bullet (which you were, and they will likely not find again, unless your system remains intact and the new guy does 17 deals in his first year, out-performing your 10).

All of this is too bad. In a life that is too short, it’s sad that we are so dependent on increasing expectations forced by the fear of failure. This probably creates bumpy cultures and workaholics. Life and work would balance so much better if results were looked at as a 100-point process versus a final deal count and growth was simply that. One more unit is one more unit.

I doubt mentalities around results will ever change for leaders. They are born to miss silver linings. However, they should get some credit, as their intentions are in the right place. More success equals more money for them and for you. I, for one, will try harder to find more silver linings because I understand that the shortness of life should force me to enjoy every single moment, good or bad. They are all lessons and they are all there to make us stronger.