Good PM 2 – Make a deal

Posted: January 7th, 2009 | Tags: Dealmaking, Negotiation, Project Management, Project Manager skills | No Comments »

If you come to a negotiation table saying you have the final truth, that you know nothing but the truth and that is final, you will get nothing. – Harri Holkeri (politician)

In my previous post I mentioned the ability that a project manager should have to say “no” when needed. Now the questions is “When is it needed?” Looking at it from a project management view the answer will always lead to the discussion regarding “Is scope creep a good thing?”.  The most important factor here is control over the process!  If the scope is managed then growth is not bad.

However, looking at this discussion from a “Customer Focus” or “Future Sales” perspective then the question should lead us down the conversation path of “the customer is always right!” and the “A good salesperson never says No” discussions.  We all know that good scope management and customer focus are both critical success factors for value adding projects and in a professional service environment there is always the sales focus as well.  How do I balance this?

This is where I believe the art of making a deal comes into play. This is a skill that a “good” project manager has to develop.  How do I give my client what they want without putting myself into a worse position.  Creative thinking, negotiation tactics and customer focus all need to be combined.  I have personally attended a very good “deal making” training course and I must admit that it has made a big difference in the way I negotiate with customers.  This becomes even more relevant if you need to act as an engagement manager as well.

The biggest skill here is on the creative thinking side.  Can I come up with a proposal that will keep my client happy and also be to my benefit.  This is where the “one must win” attitude needs to be changed to a “Win/Win” mindset.  This is not a mindset that we are brought up with.  It is a paradigm shift that we need to make.  Unless we are aware of the limitations that our current paradigm offers we cannot make the shift.  Do you know what your “one must win” attitude has cost you?

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