There is nothing sweeter in business than the phone ringing and on the other end of the line is your first "million dollar," client. You know the client who has the budget and network to validate your expertise and justify why you stopped looking for a job.

I am personally acquainted with the feeling of euphoria that overtakes you as you frantically run through the house, send out "I told you so emails," and make phone calls to everyone you know. The only emotion that can match this feeling of success is the utter disappointment you feel when you fail to meet your "dream client’s," expectation.

I recall one such occurrence vividly. I stepped on the stage to what I thought was my destiny and promptly crashed and burned. It was like someone else had taken over my body with the express purpose of undoing twenty years of hard work. Like a prisoner behind a glass, I banged desperately trying to get the strangers attention, "Don’t do that," I shouted to no avail. "Stop it," I plead. Despite my greatest efforts, I failed. It was unexplainable. I had presented this presentation over 1,000 times, but this time I rambled and told really bad jokes.

As I drove away, a feeling of dread overtook me and as the days turned into month with no word from the client, I knew I had called into question everything I’d work so hard to achieve. I am quite the competitor, therefore, I embarked on a journey to restore my reputation and confidence and through the process, I learned valuable tools that led to me not only retaining my first "million dollar," client but it also helped me secure countless clients since. Implementing these few easy steps will start you back down the road to recovering your career.

Change your perspective – One client is one client. Don’t loose confidence in your skills or certainty about your career path. Failure produces excellence and this is your opportunity to correct the mistakes and keep moving forward.

Follow up – Though you may have not met the client’s expectation, you can still follow up with a sincere card or letter explaining how honored you are to have worked with the organization, explain what went wrong and finally offer a product or service for free.

Don’t replay in your mind – Failure can be tormenting. Don’t constantly replay the event in your mind because it will cause all the feelings of rejection an inadequacy to return. It’s okay to reflect, but don’t dwell, time heals all wounds.

Perfect your brand – It’s important when a customer is not pleased for you to revisit your products and services and make the necessary modifications.

Leverage your "Big Fish," client – Despite your perceived failure, the company trusted you enough to contract your services. It only stands to reason if you attracted them, you could expand your base even more with their reference added to your biography or portfolio.

Evaluate your services – During your next presentation, be sure to have participants evaluate your services. This will provide the feedback you need to reaffirm your expertise and add to your portfolio.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – Staking your entire career on one client is not a good business strategy. You must diversify your client base and view every customer as a "millionaire dollar," client. If you treat all of your clients in this manner, when the "millionaire dollar," client does make the call you will be accustomed to serving "millionaires."

It may take a little effort on your part to restore a fractured business relationship; however, as long as you haven’t offended the very tenants of the organization or company, you can recover. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression, but numerous chances to make a second.