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About 25 years ago a customer found me one day on LinkedIn and called to ask if we could do business again. He was in a situation similar to the one he was in when we first met, which I told him, I wasn’t really involved in any business anymore.
“I don’t care,” he insisted. “It has to be yours. How can we do business together?”
Some business owners try to take advantage of their customers, but I’ve always followed a changed version of the win-win policy: I win by winning them. Now, I’m answering phone calls from this guy and many more that could lead to millions of dollars in business because, years ago, I made sure they won.
When people are so engrossed in winning or afraid to lose in negotiations, they give up something bigger and much more valuable. By winning the other side, in the end, you will win too.
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Helping the other side win is strategic and invaluable
Letting others win in negotiations leads to deeper relationships and alliances that can one day be much more valuable, even if the deal at first seems to be to your detriment. A guy once called me about a business I did with his employer about 20 years ago. He told me that he had never been refunded by this employer for buying a কার্ড 4,000 credit card. I told him to call the employer and hold him accountable, but the man told me he was already there. The former employer said no. He wanted Me To pay.
I was on the Brock plane side at the time, so it certainly didn’t seem fair that I should pay that money, but I knew it would be even less fair if this guy did. Not getting proper compensation, he just stood to lose. If his employer did not take that responsibility, I told him I would, and I offered to pay $ 200 a month until the loan was fully repaid.
He was surprised, thanked me, then added, “Actually, I was thinking of selling skincare products on Amazon. Can you help me do this? “
I told her I could make her a brand and order as much as she wanted. That was six years ago. Since then, this guy has given me about 3 3 million. Letting other people win can lead to some short-term losses, but you never know when or how they will return the favor with long-term gains that can be huge.
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Everyone can be happy and leave
People get annoyed when their team can’t win, but the games that make everyone happy are the funniest. If I see someone making a mistake while negotiating a deal with me, I tell them why that decision may not be a good one for them and offer a good alternative which will be much more convenient for them. Letting the other person feel that they have won much more than I do makes them happy; Therefore, they want to make a better deal for me in return. It can be a competition where each side is trying to help the other win!
A couple near retirement age came to me a few days ago and wanted to start a business. They offered us a brand promotion at the trade show, creating brand awareness to bring more traffic to our website when we sell follow-up and rearrange. If what I saw was a dollar sign, I would accept their offer and earn millions backwards from what these people were willing to do.
But I did not say. I explained that, instead, I could create a brand for them with their name and label that they could sell without me, keeping money from re-ordering and making a residual income in just a few years.
They looked at me and asked, “Why would you do that?”
I told them honestly: their action plan, where I will win big but they will win small, will never last. An elderly couple stuck to earning a small percentage at a trade show each week just tired of the endless rush. That business will collapse. My proposal makes it even more affordable for them to go out and hire teams of people to do shows for them, supporting their long-term efforts to build a brand that I can deliver. Discussing their best interests, I told them, has become more understandable for everyone.
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The key to the game is transparency
When customers come to me for a product because they are dissatisfied with their current seller’s service, the best way for them to win the negotiation, I tell them, is to be transparent. Clarity about the problems they have faced before can help me avoid making the same mistake. Clarity about the current price they are paying can save us some time. If I send a higher quote, they will probably respond by asking why and I will come up with an explanation before they reconsider. We can avoid all this with clarity. Let me know your prices and problems first, and I’ll tell you if I can offer you low cost service
Asking others to be transparent means being transparent with them, even when something goes wrong. If we change buyers or someone leaves and they forget to order a product, we will have to re-order and everything will be too late for our customers. The fall of being transparent is easier to deal with than being caught lying, so be honest. Developing confidence is one of the keys to a win-win outcome. The truth is you may lose a customer today, but 10 years from now, if you are the only game in town that still sells the products they need, that person will have to choose whether to return to your business. And they will, because at least they will remember that you were honest.
Even when their requests seem impossible, I can use the information I provide to find other ways to achieve something similar. Say a customer always needs on-time delivery and is reluctant to pay even more despite the supply-chain deficit. Give me a blanket order for the next six months or a year so I can order more materials at once, I say and I’ll give you your price. They have cash and make deposits, and we solve their impossible problems. Instead of 200,000, I ended up with a মিল 1 million order, and everyone won.
Those who seek only for themselves usually have the least support, but those who always seek for others have it in abundance. Be willing to change your mindset about what the outcome of a business deal should be. By listening to and understanding the other party’s point of view, what they value and where they can be flexible, you will end up with more support and more information to resolve the issue when negotiating an agreement. Letting people win does not mean giving up everything they want. Rather, it means understanding their needs so that you can create situations wherever you are You The reason for the victory They Win
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