The End of the Affair
It’s so hard to say goodbye. Almost inevitably, business relationships come to an end. You want them to last forever, and while many may be long term, nothing lasts forever.
Clients’ needs and expectations change. People in power move on. Others die. In the restaurant promotion business, there is an axiom that you automatically lose one percent of your market each year due to death. In the real estate business, that presentation that you just knew would result in a listing goes to someone else. Saying goodbye and knowing how to say it is part of the sales process.
In this period of economic turmoil, many, many relationships are coming to an end, and we have no control over them. Both my mortgage company and my bank have been absorbed by other institutions and I expect my statements to come from new addresses in the future. Clients run out of money, homes that we sold face foreclosure, long-term friends lose jobs and have to move to other locations. I have a favorite expression which has carried me through many hard times and lost relationships. Acceptance is everything.
When I experience loss, I try to look beyond my vessel lessening in volume. I try to accept the situation, the disappointment, and strive to look at the lessons I’ve learned, both professionally and in human relations, while the relationship lasted. Did I make the best contribution I could? Was I enriched by the experience? Did my client and I make some difference together? This kind of accessment is more productive than resenting the situation and focusing on a negative perspective.
And sometimes, it’s just time to say goodbye. If I can do it with grace, congratulations, I’m a grown-up.
