All of us have played soccer cards, at least once. The aim of the game is to exchange your double cards, in order to get your album completed.
This is a good example of negotiation in action: to exchage resources (ie.: double cards) in order to get maximum value (ie.: both completed albums). My double cards worth nothing to me, but might let you complete your album. Your double cards worth nothing to you, but might be precious to me. Negotiating means to arrange the transaction that makes all of us richer than before.
Professional buyers have in their deck special “golden” cards that can complete every missing sticker in your album. These cards are called “money”. They can be exchanged so easily that every counterparty is interested in getting these golden cards.
Sometime, the extraordinary plus of these payable-at-sight cards becomes a minus. In fact, buyers sometime focuse on these jolly cards only, without leveraging the other valuable cards in their deck: collateral business; references; special discount on their company’s products or services; entrering common suppliers frame agreements; every kind of unused surplus, beside payment terms and duration typical leverages.
So, put all your stuff on the table.
Get the nogotiation started!
photos: Fish retail market in Venice, Italy
NEGOnotes 