Your presentation is done. Your client , who has also become a friend, loves what he saw and now you both just have to work out the terms of the agreement. But what if, for any number of reasons, your interests and his are not perfectly aligned around price, resources, timing, or deliverables? Is there anything more awkward than having to negotiate with clients who have also become friends? How do you have that potentially difficult conversation to resolve the differences between you?
Switch Hats!
Years ago, a mentor solved this problem for me. She advised that when you have to negotiate, or, for that matter, have any kind of difficult business conversation with clients (or colleagues), simply say, “For this conversation, let’s take off our personal hats for a moment and put on our business hats.”
Vision drives action. That simple shift in mindset does three things to ensure a positive outcome. It
- Injects a needed level of clarity and objectivity into the discussion
- Allows you both to deal as responsible business people
- Reduces any fears or discomfort.
Then, when your negotiation is finished, you simply say, “Okay, let’s put our personal hats back on” and you are better able to continue your original personal relationship. Indeed–a good time to go to lunch!
Difficult business conversations are inevitable. With a little re-framing of that discussion dynamic, you can more freely focus on the issues and still protect the personal relationship.
Anne Miller