A client of mine recently received a last-minute request for an additional $250,000 investment from their key customer. This was after believing the deal was already done.

Their response......FFS!

Before that call, they were internally celebrating. Pats on the back. Drinks at the pub. Adjusting their sales targets. Now.....scrambling. I'm sure you've been there.

They didn't have the budget, but they could probably find it somewhere with enough internal persuasion and creativity.

Then came the fear. The customer had made it clear that no investment, meant no deal.

I picked up the situation during a coaching call, noticing panic in their voice.

I asked them one question. "What could you get in return?"

Was there anything they wished for in exchange? We agreed they should stop seeing the request as a demand and start seeing it as an opportunity. To change their mindset. To shift their view of the offer from a give, to a take. From win-lose to win-win.

Over the next fifteen minutes, they built a wish list. An opportunity to work with another department in a different state (a six-figure return). Marketing collateral to promote the partnership publicly (an unquantifiable return down the line).

Numbers and possibilities they hadn't considered thirty minutes earlier.

So, they went back with a counter. If you can provide us with these other variables, then we can do this in return.

Then last week, they got the green light. And this time, the real green light.

The principle is simple. Four words: if you, then we.

One of the most effective techniques in negotiation, and yet one of the most underused.

So, before your next negotiation, write down the things you would love to have in return.

• Volume

• Contract length

• Payment terms

• Introductions

• Case studies
  
  

There is always something.

And then, shift your mindset to one of abundance. When someone asks for something, know they're signalling interest. They want you. They need you. Great! Their interest creates your leverage.

Don't rush to buy back your comfort. There is always more on the table than you think.

Go well - Steve