Deal-making for business owners

We've been hearing a lot about the art of the deal lately. For many business owners, making deals is less about thinking HUGE and more about getting deals done right, not that the two are mutually exclusive.

So how can you get your deals done, and done right?

-Some people believe that business deals are a zero-sum game, with a winner and a loser. If you will be working with the other party after the deal, or if you may want additional deals with the same party in the future, OR if you may want to make deals with other people in the party's circles of influence, the win-win deal works better. Period. Business expert Stephen Covey agreed.

-You can make deals only with the decision-maker. If the decision–maker isn't at the proverbial table, you are wasting your time.

-Know who has the power in a deal. Who needs this most? If it isn't you, find ways to assure you are not desperate – or at the very least, that you do not appear so. Here's a fun article on the topic.

-Don't bury important issues just to get (an inferior) deal done. Get them out in the open and get your important questions answered.

-Know what issues are negotiable and what ones are not – on both sides.

-Learn to read subtle signals during negotiations. Here's a good Entrepreneur article on that topic.

-If a deal feels bad while you are making it, it's probably even worse than you think. Apply a multiplier to that gut feeling.

-Unless you are getting married, most deals shouldn't have "forever" or even very long-term clauses. Situations change, and escape hatches or exit plans can be valuable when they do.

-Deadlines can be advantageous. Urgency of real need helps get deals done.

-Aside from deadlines, many deals have organic shelf lives. When stale or stuck, they really aren't happening. Know when to stop chasing a deal.

-Also know when to keep lightly in touch, because some good deals come back to life when you least expect it.

-Negotiating, at its best, is the art of coming to an agreement, not conquering an opponent.

-Not good at negotiating? Attend a seminar or webinar (there are many) or read a negotiation book.

As in all matters, model your negotiation skills after people you admire, not only for their ability to make advantageous deals, but for their overall reputations and ethics as well. This article was originally published in Succeeding in Small Business.

Image © 2004 van Schouwen Associates, LLC, by Stephen van Schouwen.

 

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One question every person in charge should ask

There is not much of a silver lining to the Gulf oil spill, but people in charge – whether entrepreneurs, executives or longtime business owners – can garner valuable wisdom from one of the many mistakes that made the disaster more likely.

Potentially, busy with the severe recession, the financial sector bailout and the fight for a national health care plan, the Obama administration missed at least one ball it should have been keeping in the air: effective regulation of the oil industry in general and of deep-water drilling in particular.

The potent lesson for those of us in charge? There's a question we should ask ourselves often, and that we should grant ourselves the mental space and creative license to answer: What am I missing?

It's natural and tempting to get on a track and follow it, or to create a plan and execute it without taking the time and energy to step to the side and take stock - frequently. Are you missing opportunities? Not alert to certain dangers? Letting issues, people, money, or projects slide while you deal with everyday urgencies and tempests in a teapot?

It's true that people in charge have many of their best ideas while driving, showering or taking a vacation. Extend that freedom of mind into your everyday routine. Assign or put aside routine tasks to facilitate your own creative thinking. Read a business book on a new topic. Ask yourself if there's anything on your mind that you're not dealing with (it's often right there below the surface). Access your right brain.

What am I missing? I'm glad I asked myself. I'll ask again. And again.