It’s All About the Agenda

The season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice aired last week and I watched in disappointment as Donald Trump chose comedienne Joan Rivers as the winner. In my opinion, her competitor, poker superstar Annie Duke, played a much better game, behaved more professionally and was more deserving of the title.

Here is the key sales lesson I noticed.

Sometimes, the salesperson who is more qualified or who sells a superior product will not get the sale because of the final decision-maker’s agenda. I knew that Trump and Rivers were friends so Trump’s decision to choose her shouldn’t have surprised me. However, I mistakenly believed that “The Donald” would make the right decision.

Events like this happen in business all the time. A company with a shoddy reputation gets the deal because the executives play golf together. A supplier is eliminated because they wouldn’t offer a kick-back to the decision maker. Decisions made for the wrong reason but nonetheless; they hurt when you’re on the receiving end.

What can do to prevent this from happening? Do more research. Gather more information. Ask more questions. You may not completely eliminate it from happening but at least you may be more prepared when it does.