“Show your hand. The art of life is to show your hand. There is no diplomacy like candor. You may lose by it now and then, but it will be a loss well-gained if you do so. Nothing is so boring as having to keep up a deception.”
– E. V. Lucas (1868 – 1938), English humorist, writer and editor
Keeping up a deception is not only boring, it’s exhausting, too.
Candor counts.
In a knowledge-based economy, our product matters less and less and relationships matters more and more — and candor is the foundation for strong, longer-lasting relationships.
In the 90’s, I worked for a company that didn’t negotiate price. Ever. We just didn’t. Did prospective clients like that? Probably not, although after the fact, many of them commented that it brought clarity to their decision process. So, did they respect it? You bet they did, because when it came time for them to decide, the “dance” wasn’t necessary, because they knew the music wasn’t going to start up. By the way, we dominated our market, and did more with fewer people than any of our competitors. Our engagements were shorter and the outcomes were more predictable earlier, because all parties pretty much knew what to expect.
“We have to start here, so we can negotiate down to here,” is the conventional wisdom. Or, if we take a “candor can-do” approach, we just start where we need to be, and stay there, especially if it’s fair and reasonable.
It’s not just price, either. Service levels, expectations, support procedures and (especially) what may go wrong. Showing our hand gives a solid look into how the relationship will function after the ink is dry on the deal.
When we show our hand, candidly and diplomatically, we put in place cornerstones upon which trust rests, and trust is as fundamental a building-block as we can ever hope for in our businesses.
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