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FROM THE PUBLISHER: May 2005 |
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Written by Sue fredericks
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Don’t fall in love with the deal!
We had been renovating a new office location for the last six months, and move-in day was now less than two weeks away. The latest snafu really drove home an important lesson about maintaining flexibility.
A week before, I received a call to say that the carpet we had ordered wouldn’t be available until mid-May. This wouldn’t have been a big deal if the move-in date wasn’t April 29th, and the carpet wasn’t going to be installed the following week. Quickly exchanged phone calls between the salesman and I confirmed that I would have to choose a new carpet. Again, not a problem if time is on your side and you don’t need large quantities. Neither was the case here.
After wasting two days (we don’t get one day courier service in our area) waiting for samples, we were still out of luck. The complication was that walls were painted and furniture upholstery ordered based on the original unique carpet we had selected. It would have been easy to postpone the whole project and wait for the original carpet. I mean, come on, it was a brand new pattern. This was going to be the first run at the factory. It was high end and looked it.
But one of the most important lessons I have learned in business came back to me – Don’t fall in love with the deal. The minute we allow our emotions to dictate our actions in business, we have lost our ability to make sound decisions. If you don’t leave yourself the option of walking away from the deal, you have given away the upper hand.
This principle can be applied to many aspects of your business, whether it’s negotiating price with a supplier, hiring new staff, financing your business or selling the shop. You have to be prepared to walk away to give yourself options. While this can be a very painful discipline in the short term, it will give you a better long-term result.
It took me two days, but I found a suitable replacement for the carpet. Not only would it match the décor, but I was able to get the same quality of carpet for much less money. When I added this to the savings we made by not prolonging the project, it was a good day for the business. Then I got the phone call about the missing tile …
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