Re: Contract Negotiations -- When is it Enough?

When is it enough? When the numbers turn red instead of green! [Unless
#your# the one with the perfect management accounting system, this is pretty
academic so far]

One system I have used is where you have a list of leads and their
corresponding potential revenue. Each week rank the leads from most likely
to eventuate to least likely to eventuate. This list helps you make
decisions of this nature.

[One way of thinking about "most likely to eventuate" is "how much #more#
effort" to get the job.]

It helps you to:

1. Feel relaxed about individual opportunities
2. Have a sense of prudent management and feel like your an astute business
person
3. Have diversification in your marketing activities.
4. Reduce your marketing expense per $ of revenue
etc.

If you are too have a positive working relationship with this lead you need
to work on the relationship. Me personally, I would do a little more work on
the specifics that she has identified [make 7days 90 days etc - (you already
have 90 somewhere else right?)], and as part of that next approach I would
cut to the chase and raise the issue of trust. I would go there. It may mean
I wouldn't get the job. But I would take that step to give me that
experience, at least.

I mean, one way of looking at it is to see that what you have done so far
has bought you to a point that you don't normally get to - a hurdle on the
issue of trust. Lucky you to have the opportunity to try someting different
to see if you can get over that. If you can, you have a competitive
advantage over others who can't.

I wouldn't spend stacks of time on it, but I'd try something, just to see
what happens. In your mind you can write your extra time that you put to
"Dealing With Trust Issues" to Staff Training instead of Marketing Expense.

Of course, as Dennis said, clearly if you got a call today saying "yes"
you'd still need to factor into your thoughts about managing the process the
experience you've had with the client so far. Do you have room in your
margin for this extra activity?

Though, my other thought is that I'd had the experience where sometimes you
just give them the detail that they want, and it's like you get over that
hurdle and then they become the most easy going clients of all.

Bottom Line ... add a few more things that you could take from this
situation you have worked yourself into, protect the profitability of the
project if you were to actually get the nod, and lastly use it as experience
for technique in deling with trust issues.

Just a bit more for the pot for you, and good luck with it.

John


----- Original Message -----
From: Dennis Lapcewich <dlapcewich(at)intira.com>
To: HWG-Business List <hwg-business(at)hwg.org>
Cc: 'Sheldon J. Potter' <sjpotter(at)essential-connect.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2000 7:28 AM
Subject: RE: Contract Negotiations -- When is it Enough?


> > Hello group --
> >
> > I haven't posted for a *long time, but today I've got one that my gut is
> > telling me needs attention.  My apologies up front for the length of
> > this one.
> >
>
> Sheldon,
>
> Trust your gut.
>
> Have *any* of your other clients behaved this way with similar
(identical?)
> development contracts?  I thought not.
>
> Trust your gut.
>
> Does this client feel confident in their own business ways and means?
>
> Trust your gut.
>
> You were recommended to this client by someone you did work for in the
past.
> What do they have to say about this client?
>
> Trust your gut.
>
> Oh yes, trust your gut.
>
> Walk away from it. :)
>
> Otherwise, TUMS will not help in this case.
>
>
> Dennis
>

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