74. “We Decided to Go Another Direction” Means “You Suck”

You put your heart and soul into a proposal. Sometimes you even fly out to see the client and make a fancy pitch. In the end, there are times when you are not selected to do the work. The client tries to let you down easily by telling you, “We decided to go in another direction.” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that phrase, I’d be a rich man. We’ve learned to interpret what the client really means when they say it: “You suck, and we’re just trying to let you down easy.”

At the start of my business when we would hear that from clients, we would simply say, “Thanks for considering us. Please let us know if we can help you out in the future.” Then we’d sit and speculate as to why ...

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