Cup of Joe

Fad or trend?  Opportunity can be found in both.  Just be sure you know the difference.

If you aren’t setting the trends, you can still create revenue opportunities by getting in at the front of the curve with fads that ride the coattails of the trends.  Fads like laptops, iPhones, texting – all generate short-term revenue, and can for years.  But a key trend associated with these fads–mobility–offers long-term revenue streams.

Line your pockets with the fads; take the trends to the bank.

If you want to bring all you have to any negotiation, you must be prepared to walk away from the deal. Let them catch a whiff of your desperation, and you quickly lose your edge in the negotiation process.

Conducting due diligence includes many things, from researching the personality of your counterpart (as I discuss in Part 2), to gathering information about the company you are dealing with.  Part of that due diligence should also include your ‘deal breaker’ scenario, or, what factors would cause you to walk away from the deal.

In the current economy, it is harder to sell, partner, or draw people’s interest in your business.  Unfortunately, this means that people can act desperate. They come in with one good idea and no alternatives, which probably means they come in unwilling to walk away.  This puts them at a major disadvantage and makes them appear desperate.  It is just as necessary now, if not more so, to come up with alternative plans and proposals, or you will certainly find yourself in a more desperate situation.

If you have nagging doubts about a partnership or a deal, you need to listen to them.  Are you prepared to walk away?  Have you laid alternate plans?

[Negotiating topics from Caruso Leadership Institute’s The Winning Hand training program.]

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