When you are presented with a proposal, at times, the only thing you can think to yourself is how you're wasting time by even listening to it. I know the feeling, I understand.
Negotiating is an art, especially when considerable wealth is being exchanged, but even if the profit is minimal there is one thing we should all refrain from saying after we've heard a pitch...
"This has no value"
Instead, you can say that you're having trouble seeing the value, you can ask what the value is if unsure, what the benefits are, you can even say that you yourself don't see the value or don't believe it has any. But to assertively say as a fact that there is no value in what you're being presented? We shouldn't go there.
Why not say it if I think I'm right? That's the thing, you think...just like the person who is making the presentation.
Someone took time to bring this to you because they either thought it would have value to you or they thought they could trick you into thinking it has value for you.
If you're told by someone that they're certain that you're bringing something to them of no value to try to get value from them in exchange, what are they really saying? They're either calling you dumb or they're straight-up calling you a thief. How can a civilized negotiation be conducted after that?
So yeah, that actually happened to me last week and as a result, I'm going to make that company pay more because they most certainly have a need for what I'm selling...but they also have a need for better escalation/training procedures and I'm going to make them see that for the sake of everyone else that has to deal with them in the future.
Dealing with a multi-million dollar company you would think that they would have the resources and be prepared to handle anything that comes their way, but the reality of it is big names become confident in their credibility...after a while they forget consumers make any business and they need to be reminded from time to time.
I absolutely despise dealing with big companies. I know that often they are the way they are because they are so big, because they have so much volume, because so many try to take advantage of them. They become cold, robotic habits/policies that only get questioned when something goes embarrassingly wrong.
In contrast, smaller companies are usually more careful with their image. They often can't even afford to provide such attentive service but they still do in their pursuit of becoming the preferential option or at least a profitable venture.
This week I had two very different experiences. Both companies in some capacity related to blockchain, one of them is huge and the other one just getting started.
Several days have passed and I'm sitting on at the very least a major publicity problem for that first company, they still don't know, after having me talk to 4 different people, that they're actually in a delicate situation and a few hours away from having to deal with lawyers; instead of just closing a frictionless sale a very reasonable entrepreneur who's just trying to make a quick buck. If they don't make up for their mistakes quickly they will have to pay several people instead of just one, and the more people get involved and time passes, the higher the privacy/security exposure risk for the particular product I'm selling.
The smaller company responded within 24 hours, wasn't hard to reach in the first place at all, and was very cautious of the wording used to reject the offer. They will come back, but when they do I will likely still have what they want and will remember them being kind enough to consider them on a human level as the negotiation resumes.
A lot of crypto guys, including myself at times, have become a little too confident in what we have in relation to the way we treat others. I have found myself being harsh, very plain not to say rude, to some people who I feel are making me waste my time. Dealing with a big company after a while has served as a good reminder to watch how I say things.
