What's the worst thing to say in business?

“Well, it’s their loss!”

This has to be the most naïve, STUPID saying that I hear business people say when they either lose a customer or don’t get a sale!

If a customer stops using your service or stops buying your product; if a prospective customer decides not to go with your firm, it’s not their loss… IT’S YOURS!

That lost customer means less money in the till, less money to pay staff and yourself. It means less money to be able to market your business more. It means LESS PROFIT.

I’ve also heard employees say this about the firm that's just sacked them. Hang on, who is without a job and salary?

I can only assume that people who say this are just trying to make themselves feel better. I really can’t believe they actually mean it. If they do they shouldn’t be in business or have a job.

Next time you lose a sale or a customer no longer wants to hire you, instead of sitting there trying to make yourself better by blaming others, why not get on and find out why you lost the sale, or why the customer is wanting to go elsewhere?

It might mean eating a bit of humble pie if you find out the customer hasn’t been happy with an area of your business (or your attitude) but by finding out, and then acting on what the customer has said, you are on the road to getting that customer back or, at the very least, knowing how to treat other (prospective or current) customers better.

If you are one of those people who in the past has said “Well it’s their loss!” then make it a rule from now on to change your point of view and say “It’s MY loss and I’m going to find out how to stop this happening in future!”