I saw a story this past weekend that made me laugh and cringe all at the same time. A runner in fairly prestigious 10k race this weekend in Atlanta started celebrating a little too early and ended up losing the race to someone who didn’t take anything for granted and fought until the very end. Here’s the story if you missed it: http://www.aol.com/article/2015/07/06/runner-celebrates-too-early-loses-big-race/21205425/

It got me thinking about how many times early in my career I would celebrate winning a deal too early, took a verbal commitment for granted, thought I would hit my monthly/quarterly number based on someone else’s word and ultimately got kicked right in the teeth when it didn’t happen. I literally had a VP of Sales one day look me in the eye, shake my hand and tell me that if I had the proposal for a $250k deal on his desk by the next morning I would have a signed contract in my inbox by lunch. I went back to the office, high fived everyone, told my boss and CEO the deal was coming in, bragged about crushing my number and so on. Come to find out the next day the CEO hired 3 additional VPs of Sales without my guy knowing it and completely took away his decision making authority. Needless to say, I didn’t get the deal and had to walk through my office with my tail between my legs to explain to my boss and CEO what happened. That was awesome.

At the end of the day the deal isn’t done until the contract is signed and the check is in the bank. I’ve personally taken deals back from the dead after someone called to let me know they went in a different direction. I’ve gotten them to cancel the contract, sign on with me and call the other rep to tell them the bad news. I’ve been on the receiving end of that situation as well. At this point in my career I don’t even talk about deals or things I want to happen until they actually happen. I’m not necessarily a superstitious guy but this has become one for me because I’ve been bit by it too many times.

The story about the guy losing the race is a reminder to me and hopefully everyone else that we should never take anything for granted and we should always push through the finish line. Don’t rely on one contract to come in to hit your quota. Don’t ever trust a verbal agreement. Don’t celebrate or brag until the check is in the bank. Be a pessimist with your deals and always have a back-up, it will keep you sane. Good luck and happy selling.