Negotiating Power
Getting what you want in deals with clients and vendors
rackAID’s Jeff Huckaby was interviewed by Success Magazine on how to negotiate business deals.
While your business environment might not be the markets of Morocco, where haggling over a head of lettuce or a cab ride is expected, negotiation is simply a part of doing business anywhere in the world. Not only is it critical in establishing the best terms for your services, but you want a good deal in your contracts with vendors, too …
Embrace Your Size
It may be tempting to bolster your image to appear bigger, but playing true to yourself is better for negotiating. Jeff Huckaby, founder and CEO of rackAID, an IT managed services company, says that his smallness has sometimes worked to his advantage, but that pretending you’re bigger than you are rarely helps.
“When you create a big corporate image, vendors assume your pockets are deeper than they are,” Huckaby says. “They may assume you need their flagship product when you need the starter version. Being honest about your company’s size, growth and position in the marketplace is key. Good vendors will try to align your business needs with the appropriate products.”
Huckaby recently struck a deal with a small software firm after testing several competing products; rackAID liked that the vendor was small, applied rackAID’s suggestions for improving the product and was able to offer a significant discount from what much larger companies paid. “I simply asked for better pricing and more flexible licensing, and we got a great deal,” Huckaby says.
Read more at Success.com