Hey, I want to talk a little bit tactical here today. I've been sharing some stuff on sort of process and personal management, but I want to dip back into the into the tactics pool here for you today, one of the things that we see happening far too often with our clients in the business development realm is that they are not willing to plant their feet on getting something if they give something. So in a lot of cases, this comes towards the end of the process, which is negotiation, but you really should try to process, manage, your opportunity pursuits, so that you know what you're in control of from the moment you say, thanks for taking the time to meet with me. What kind of business conversation can we have? You should always know that everything you give away should have value, and if you don't protect that value, you can never expect the prospect, or, maybe more appropriately, the suspect is going to value it as don't count on them to tell you to stop giving away things for free.
So if you're going to make a commitment, whether you make a price concession, whether you make a delivery date concession, whether you make a payment terms concession, whether you make a minimum stocking order concession, if you're willing to offer that up, you've got to know what will happen if you do it, if you offer and hope, you're probably going to end up disappointed more times than you're going to be happy that you made that agreement.
One of the things you've always got to be willing to do is maintain the value for what you're willing to give to the other side make sure you get something in return. You should always get paid for something you offer. It can be a decision. It can be a timeline concession. It can be an introduction to someone else in the plant that you're trying to work with. It can be a referral to someone that you've never met before in another business, it can be that they're going to give you more opportunities further down the road, but if you don't make your offer valuable, you're never going to get that favor done for you by the prospect.
Believe you're worth it and manage your business development process with that belief. And always remember, if you don't get a yes, there's a no and a lesson, and there's always another prospect, another opportunity waiting for you right outside that door or right after you hang up that phone. So believe you're worth it. Manage your value and behave like you're worth it. It's your responsibility to protect it. It's not theirs to remind you of it.
Take care. Have a powerful weekend. Enjoy your success and be ready to jump back in the game on Monday morning.
