There must be a winner and a loser in every business relationship. The Internet said so, and everything on the Internet is true.
When a contract is negotiated the legal teams start posturing and you’ll find one party wins and the other loses.
Derek Bain, quoted in ““Contracts have a winner and loser – so if they don’t work for me, I’m out”
Poppycock.
While I agree with the second part of Bain’s assessment where he won’t enter into a contract that works for him, remember that the other party won’t want to enter into a contract in which Bain gets all the winnings. Or if they do, they’ll mutter about Bain under his breath and find a new contractual partner when the opportunity presents itself.
Hard sell (win-lose) is of limited value. Win-win is better. If you can establish it.
Why should I listen to your pitch? (Or why should you listen to mine?)
A business relationship starts with one party approaching the other. Perhaps it may be a question, or perhaps it may be a pitch. We all get pitches. Some of us (including Bredemarket) give pitches.
What determines whether you respond to a Bredemarket pitch?
You’re not going to book a 30 minute Saturday morning meeting with me if it doesn’t benefit you.
- If you know that you don’t need marketing content at all, you won’t need Bredemarket. (I can perhaps dispute your assessment, but if you’re not ready to create targeted marketing content, you’re not ready.)
- If you already have access to great content creators, you won’t need Bredemarket. Just treat your content creators well so they continue to advance your business.
- If your company is outside the United States, you can’t use Bredemarket. My company isn’t mature enough to handle the complexities of international business.
- If your company offers finger/face identification services, you can’t use Bredemarket because of that pesky day job.
- If you need me to be available Monday-Friday 8-5 Pacific time, you can’t use Bredemarket, again because of that pesky day job.
What determines whether Bredemarket responds to a company’s pitch?
Again, your product or service has to benefit me, Bredemarket, and my current status as a small part-time business.
- I don’t need payroll software. I’m a sole proprietor.
- I don’t need your phone answering service. I already have a free one, and most of the voicemails I get are spam. I’m not going to pay to get spam.
- I’m not interested in your list of leads. The fact that you have me on your own list of leads shows how poor your lists are.
- And no, I don’t need your (INSERT SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT SERVICE HERE) offering. If your (INSERT SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT SERVICE HERE) is going to take off like gangbusters in the next 6 months, why are you so stupid as to sell it to me, rather than keeping it for yourself?
Beyond the pitch
So we don’t respond to pitches if they don’t benefit us.
In the same way, we don’t sign contracts if they don’t benefit us. And we certainly don’t remain in long-term business relationships if they don’t benefit us.
Yet people still pursue the win-lose model. If you want to score a single sale and move on from a disappointed customer and find your next target, win-win isn’t for you.
I don’t work that way, in Bredemarket or anywhere else.
Three benefits of win-win relationships
Since I’m writing this to potential Bredemarket clients, let me share three benefits of our working together in a win-win model.
Improved collaboration
From the first six questions onward, you and I will collaborate on the deliverable Bredemarket prepares for you, ensuring that you get precisely what you need.
As we continue to work with each other, I will have an understanding of what you need, and you will have an understanding of what I can deliver. This speeds up the deliverables, an added bonus.
Mutual growth
My hope is that my Bredemarket work will benefit your business.
- One of my six questions involves the goal that my deliverable is supposed to satisfy, and after the content is available we can see if the goal was met.
- While we both need to realize that inbound marketing is a long-term approach, hopefully the content will start to move the needle forward.
- Example: I’m writing this post in April 2023. Will it work as a “secret salesperson” to attract someone to Bredemarket in April 2024?
At the same time, what I learn about your business will benefit me.
- For example, I’ve already described (on page 6 of the e-book I talked about here) how the practices of one of my customers influenced Bredemarket’s own practices.
Increased profitability for both of us
After all, incoming money is a necessary component of business. I get paid for my Bredemarket work, and my work helps you increase your revenue and profit, based on what we decided during our collaboration.
Of course, this assumes that you want to make money. If your goal is to bankrupt your business, Bredemarket could theoretically help you with that also. But I won’t, because that increases the chances that you won’t pay me.
Go out and win-win
So whether you select Bredemarket for your writing needs or not, take care to pursue win-win relationships with your partners. You’ll establish long-term relationships, and (in most cases) you’ll feel better about yourself.
Well, in most cases.
Bredemarket 