From The Detroit News | By Ken Calverley and Chuck Breidenstein
DETROIT, August 3, 2023 ~ We do it every day, often without even thinking about it. To many of us it is a competition of sorts, to others a compromise and to yet a third group, a frightening experience.
What we are talking about is negotiation. It is an artform practiced by leaders who strategize each encounter to achieve a specific outcome, and some use it as a tool to dominate others.
A successful negotiation should be a win-win for all parties, particularly if we recognize one of the overriding concepts of any such interaction; that is, we want different things.
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When you pull through a drive-in restaurant, you do so knowing what you are going to get and what it is going to cost you.
You recognize the value in the exchange and never try to change the parameters of the negotiation by, for instance, offering less than the price printed on the menu.
If one of the expected outcomes changes; say the food takes half an hour or you get something other than what you ordered, you are no longer satisfied and may demand some type of additional compensation.
They wanted your money. You wanted predictable food quickly and a polite person to deliver it.
When we enter a negotiation understanding what we want out of it we are more likely to be satisfied with the results.
In most cases it calls for an exchange of money for goods and/or services. When we feel the exchange was fair, we assign “value” to the proposition.
But what is “fair”? The term becomes quite relative and is more often tied to the people involved than the goods exchanged.
If you spend $150 for a steak dinner at a fancy restaurant, though you know the ingredients could have been purchased for $40 and cooked at home, what creates a satisfactory experience?
It is usually people. People who act with confidence while remaining deferential to you as the customer. Polite people demonstrating concern for you and your needs.
Passionate people that are good at what they do. Positive and joyful people that lift you up and make you feel good about the experience.
Another dynamic at work in such a transaction is how it affects those close to you or those important to you.
If paying for a professional duct cleaning helps reduce the dust in the home and alleviates some of the breathing issues of a loved one, it is viewed as a better deal.
When you pay for that new roof and discover the company not only responds to your questions and calls for service but left your house and yard better than they found it, you assign higher value to that exchange.
Most such events in the building industry involve people at every level. Salespersons from good companies practice the people skills we talked about.
When you need new windows, they don’t show up and “sell” you; instead, they educate you. They convey product types, styles, colors, and function, tying each to a price point. They then let you make the decision as to which meets your desired outcome.
Some companies used to train such people with the mandate to either “stay in the home and make the sale or have the owner threaten to call the police.” Strong-arm tactics such as these and the “let me call my manager to see if we can lower that price for you” are never used by good companies.
People like those the Guys recommend use a single price strategy regardless of your ZIP code or the make of car parked in your driveway.
They deliver on the value equation with the best people, process and product they can find, and they will also stand behind what they do with a great, first person, written warranty.
Find out more at InsideOutsideGuys.com.
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For housing advice and more, listen to “The Inside Outside Guys” every Saturday and Sunday on 760 WJR from 10 a.m. to noon, or contact them at InsideOutsideGuys.com.
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