Negotiation Tips No. 85 Win/Win/Win Negotiation I recently stayed in a hotel that was particularly attractive and the client had negotiated a strong corporate rate. I asked the client if we could piggy back his rate and now we stay at that hotel ourselves at the original corporate rate. This is a good example of win/win/win negotiation. We are getting a rate beyond what we could achieve with our small volume; the client is getting extra volume on their account so that they can leverage an even better deal next time; and the hotel is getting more business than it would have done otherwise plus the good publicity and extra drinks, meals etc. The world is full of good deals. Some of them may not be yours but that does not mean that you shouldn’t try to take advantage of them. It could add value beyond what you might have calculated for yourself alone and it can create good will. It almost sounds like the negotiation equivalent of perpetual motion. It seems everyone’s a winner in this example. © Tom Beasor 2001

Sales Tips No. 66 Cast iron guarantee This is a quote from a magazine I subscribe to: “Unconditional. No questions asked. If you are dissatisfied with your purchase for any reason, please return it for a refund. Since I sold the first copy of my first book in 1980, I have never failed to promptly refund a dissatisfied customer’s money. Just send the merchandise back (along with details of purchase – date, price, etc) and you will soon receive a refund. I always do appreciate it when a customer explains why they want a refund. As a businessman, it’s my job to keep my customers happy. Otherwise, they won’t remain customers. Suffice it to say that in over 5 years I’ve never had to even think of sending something back. The quality is assured. Ask yourself how good your warranty is and what terms you trade under. If you can reassure your customers and they know that if something goes wrong they can get a prompt resolution of the problem, your selling task will be a whole lot easier. © Tom Beasor 2001

Management Tips No 14 Haloes and Horns When you look at a team or sometimes a whole department you can often tell who it was who recruited them. Many recruiters have a template in their minds (often based on themselves) and they apply it over and over. This creates some very remarkable cultures in organisations where everyone is particularly good at the same subject and that department excels but conversely that same department also shares the same weaknesses. It takes a very bold manager to recruit somebody who they know will be different from the usual “type”. It is one thing to talk about valuing diversity but another act indeed to put it into practice. There are many tools that can assist a manager in fulfilling the role of recruitment but the underlying principle is ensuring that you don’t end up with a whole team of angels and devils. © Tom Beasor 2001