The Old Hand: don’t be a wise guy

As traders and marketers our main goal is profit. We work with the only idea of making profit out of our work. In fact, we don’t dream of anything other than profit, often a quick and easy one. Unfortunately, we all know that reality is never that simple nor easy. But for some reason we frequently forget the rules of engagement and end up destroying our relationships with our suppliers or our buyers, especially when our desire to close the deal overcomes our common sense.

All those hours spent sourcing the buyer, sourcing the stock and attempting to complete the transaction can be destroyed in an instant when we lose our nerve and put profit before people.

Why do we do this and what is the solution to the problem?

Because as traders we get over excited about the money we gain and our bank accounts details, with the risk of our ego taking over and forgetting how difficult it is to really complete the transaction. Within that adrenaline buzz we forget or dismiss good business practice and we almost convince ourselves that we have already closed the deal, even if we all know that the deal is never done until the money is in our bank account.