Speaking at an event in London, Rich told a packed group of SME founder/ owners that it is vital that SME’s understand more about the deal making process or they will simply lose out.
Rich acts as a professional negotiator, and claims to have made deals happen for the likes of Simon Cowell, Sony, MySpace and the Royal Opera House, and also negotiated deals with the likes of Take That, Apple and Vodafone.
He added, “in the wake of the global financial crisis and with the recession biting, SME’s are finding it harder and harder to get deals, whether for funding or with large customers and suppliers who are putting the squeeze on terms or slamming doors in their in face”.
This puts a premium on negotiating skills. Yet negotiation skills are seldom taught or practiced and this represents a big risk for SME’s.
British Companies will only “win” at deal making if they learn to negotiate effectively. This is becoming critical as China and India grow in negotiating strength, as emerging economies like Brazil become more powerful, as the demands of technology place an ever greater premium on effective international deal partnerships, and as the lingering effects of recession and the credit crunch continue to squeeze the availability of working capital for international expansion.
Rich concluded the event by saying, “British companies need to become far more effective at negotiating if they are to prosper in this new ‘Deal Economy’”. They need to prioritize the acquisition and development of negotiation skills, not as a training exercise, but as an investment in a precious asset, which will deliver a measurable, return. They need to prepare themselves to negotiate smarter. And we all know that if you fail to prepare you prepare to fail.
Clive Rich is a new breed of business advisor who helps companies with their negotiations – either giving clients the “inside track” on how to set up and negotiate a deal, or actually negotiating the deal on their behalf – ensuring that clients get more of what they want.
