Alfred, Lord Tennyson is the one who first wrote, “‘Tis better to have loved and lost, / Than never to have loved at all.” I try to imagine the courage that it took for Lord Tennyson to write and describe this after having lost someone dear.
Losing someone we do not care about is not the same thing at all. But losing someone that was dearly loved is like losing the key to our happiness. Where can you go when the key to happiness is missing? You are locked in, blinded by the darkness. You can hardly imagine that “it is better to have loved and lost.”
There is more to Tennyson’s perspective than putting loss in perspective. It is understanding the high stakes before we invest in the partnership. I believe that one who loves and enters the relationship does so while knowing that it could be lost and that the risk is an acceptable one.
Marketing and business are like courting a lover, as I have mentioned before many times. Entering into business, one that we care about in particular, we must also accept the possibility of losing everything, as in love.
I don’t say this to raise the stakes, or to get anyone stressed over the current economics. This is not to make our sales efforts hesitant because to lose the sale will be like losing our beloved.
This reality check is to confirm with you that
- These relationships in this economy matter,
- This, your business, matters, and,
- Your time and effort matter, come what may.
On one hand, this business may not be who you are, but losing it matters to who you are.
And yet, it is equally true, that you know that it is better to have fully given all to your business and lost than not to have fully tried.
The romance of sales is in the air. We can smell it. The laughter precedes the tears. And every day, every effort to relate was worth it. Thank you, Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Romantic Comedy Marketing is copyright 2009 by Rich Guy Miller
