Ever so often in the past, I have found myself in a midst of business negotiations that were starting to taste a little bitter. The ones I disliked the most were of the nature where the other party truly believed that they were doing me a favour by doing business with me. The implication was that having their name on my company's CV would help me get access to more business and that by walking away from that deal, I would be giving up an opportunity of a lifetime. One person has even had the gall to ask me what I would be willing to pay him for the privilege of doing business with him.
The meanest trick that a strong-arming negotiator can play on you is to lead you to believe that you have a lot to lose. You don't.
When I look back at some of the opportunities I regretted losing at the time, I am so glad that I did not invest time, money and effort in those unprofitable deals.
If there is one critical success factor in business, it is the ability to say 'no' and to stay true to your walk away point, the one you decided before you got to the negotiating table.
1 comment:
This one is so true..because of that one line you put in : The ability of the buyer to make you start believing that you have a lot to lose.
The fact also is that you will question and revisit your decision multiple times, especially when things are going badly
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