So remember, every picture tells a story don't it - with thanks to Stewart and Wood for the title

Some you win and some you lose

There are some contracts that you are destined never to win. This could be for a variety of reasons and whenever a contract is lost there is always that tinge of disappointment.

If you think that price, lead time and quality are as good as you can get it then it is simply not your turn.

Large projects can turn on a personal decision and, in most cases, the client is not necessarily obliged to select the most competitive option.

We wrote recently about the difference between confidence and a confidence trick; please take a look at http://www.rabse.com/apps/blog/show/41649151-confidence-or-confidence-trick .

There are some instances where confidence or competitiveness does not play a part in the decision.

And those are the contracts that you lose. As the title says "some you win and some you lose".

On another subject when you want an air intake screen then there really is only one company to buy from.

Permatron production line

We would say that of course because Richard Betts, Managing Director of RAB Specialist Engineers, found this product, negotiated contracts with the manufacturers and brought the first air intake filter screens into the UK.

 Not only that but it is the highest quality, external filtration system in the country made in the ONLY air intake screen factory in the USA.

Richard Betts meets Leslye Sandberg in 2013

Permatron Corporation making filters since 1957 and RAB Specialist Engineers make a great team.

In this instance you cannot lose and only win.

The north and south divide

I have spent so much of my career concentrating on business in the south that it was a bit of a culture shock to travel up to Yorkshire.

Although this is the home of my fathers family, it is not a place that I have travelled to regularly since my grandparents died.

There is a subtle difference between the north and the south, and this has nothing to do with house prices or the availability of work following the demise of the coal fields.

It is quite simply, friendliness.

No cold and frosty greeting from the hotel receptionist when you arrive after a 4 hour journey looking a little tired and weary.

Instead a warm welcome from someone who does this job every day but brings something different and is genuinely pleased to be of help.

North and South

The breakfast at this hotel was (in the words of Tina Turner) simply the best.

Sausages tasted like sausages rather than reheated cardboard, the bacon was thick and juicy and the mushrooms had actually been cooked in a pan with some butter rather than shown a microwave straight out of the tin.

So what of the business.

Once again the receptionist at this important client greeted me like a long lost neighbour and the meeting was held in an informal style with the engineering team.

Will I get an order? Possibly.

However, what I did get was a desire to live in an environment where people treat you with respect and show a genuine interest in what you have to say.

That is the true north and south divide.