I Can Haz Mai Sales Skillz Back Plz??

Yeah, yeah, so I wrote the title in LOLcat, wanna fight about it?  Seriously though, I want my sales skills back pronto.

I used to make a pretty nice living in what essentially was sales.  I do a fairly good job reading people.  I know how to expose their fears and their desires and, once I have that knowledge, they are mine.  Most importantly, I know how to choose the right words that will spur them to want whatever it is that I'm offering.  After all, what I'm offering will protect them from their fears and make their deepest desires become reality.

I haven't worked for wages in over two years and I'm afraid that I've lost my sales mo-jo.

I made a brilliant, no-strings attached offer to a loved one and it was rejected.  There were only two possible choices that I presented and yet they chose a third option that wasn't even on the table.  In my arrogance, I was certain that my primary offer would be accepted.  I took the answer poorly (well, it would be more accurate to say that I took it personally) because I've only very rarely been rejected and I'm offering an unbelievably wonderful gift.  I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying, "WTF, are you kidding me?!"

The offer is so fantastic that it isn't an exaggeration to say that it would be positively life-changing, so I guess that I read the person wrong and I didn't chose the right words.  I know that the timing left a lot to be desired, but there was nothing I could do about that.  Now I'm over-analyzing the entire pitch and wondering where I failed.

Was I too hard, too direct?  Should I have been more subtle?  What if I had removed the decision making altogether?  Should I call and just say that this is the way it's going to be?

I can't believe that I screwed up such an important sale.  My husband tells me that it would have been tough to close in the best of circumstances because it is so very life-changing, but I was sure that I had nailed it.  I feel like I failed a loved one because I couldn't close the freaking deal.

Always looking for the silver lining, I know that I did plant seeds and seeds that have been nurtured often yield a rich bounty.  But it's the nurturing that concerns me, has always concerned me, with this individual.  Without proper care and attention, even the most well-planted seed won't produce the desired result.

Of course, I can't take a simple rejection and walk away from the table.  To me, no doesn't always mean no and I was called a bulldog by my former boss on more than one occasion because I don't let it go until it is abundantly clear that the sales process is dead.  So now I have to consider how to proceed with my follow up.