Posted: January 12th, 2009 | Tags: Dealmaking, Negotiation, Project Manager skills | No Comments »
Over on PPMNG Andy Kaufman has started a discussion on How to say “No” (Without saying “No”). This is in line with my current discussion here.
Andy’s suggestion is to rather use the “Yes, but” answer than a solid “No”. In principle I agree with his answer. Always leave the door open for negotiations. However, I do differ with the way the answer is phrased.
An expert negotiator has told me never to use “Yes, but” because an experienced negotiator will cut your sentence short at the “but”. Better way to phrase this is ” If ….<your conditions> then I will be able to do ..<their requirement>…” This allows you to get your position on the table before saying yes to anything. If they cannot accept your condition then you will be interrupted before accepting anything.
Funny how these small changes make a big difference in the outcome.
Posted: January 12th, 2009 | Tags: Dealmaking, Negotiation, Project Manager skills | 3 Comments »
A really interesting discussion has started to develop here at Crossderry between Paul Ritchie & Pawel Brodzinski. The main point focuses around do we really say No to our clients?
I have posted my response here.
To summarize my views:
1. The client’s view is important. Be sure that you manage all expectations. Stated and implied.
2. Any Professional Services Project Manager has more than one customer to keep happy. As stated by Paul in one of his follow-up comments.
3. The way to bridge between Customer Satisfaction and Scope Management includes good negotiation skills. Most PMs do not have this skill.
4. The Professional Services Organizational also need to support the PM by allowing her/him to come up with creative solutions to project challenges. Are your PMs empowered to do this?
5. Any Professional Services company must jealously guard it’s portfolio against bad projects. The costs of one bad project will erode the profit of several good projects. This should also include the pipeline of future projects, thus the need for good selection criteria in you Portfolio Management process. Avoidance is cheaper than cure!
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?
