Making the seemingly impossible, possible!

As a negotiation coach, Negotiation Alchemy has worked with a large range of clients. This example shows how working with Negotiation Alchemy could help you turnaround what on first appearances might seem the most unpromising of scenarios.

A well-­established consultancy that troubleshoots financial function problems contacted Negotiation Alchemy for help after it encountered difficulties with a client. The consultancy had been brought in by a small, successful and traditional firm to perform financial director duties as emergency cover, following the sudden departure of their previous Finance Director.

The consultancy had quoted a fixed price for doing this. Soon after, it became clear that the financial records and systems would require an extensive amount of unpicking which had not been known prior to the commencement of the work. The implications of this unexpected need led to difficulties in communications with the client’s Managing Director, who was unable to appreciate the unforeseen complexity that the consultancy was experiencing.

The new situation meant that working to a fixed price (agreed prior to the knowledge that the system required so much attention) was no longer viable, as the operating costs of the consultancy had increased dramatically. Eventually its effective rate decreased to the point where it was close to costing itself money by continuing to work with the client. It was at this point that it turned to Negotiation Alchemy for help.

The impact of Negotiation Alchemy

“The first thing that they did for me was to make it clear that they completely understood the situation,” says the consultancy’s director. “This helped to reassure me that the situation was salvageable and moved me forward to a place where I was able to listen to the solution that he had identified."

“They saw where the friction was occurring and gave me the negotiation tools to state my case clearly and explain the value that I was bringing. They also helped me to identify my company’s red lines and ensured that I was in a position to clearly communicate these to the client. The client was receptive to this new approach, and our relationship improved dramatically; the outcome of which, aside from a better working relationship, was that our effective rate started to rise, and grew month-­‐on-­‐month.”

“When I first approached Negotiation Alchemy, I was in the unthinkable position of having to consider walking away from both a client who was dissatisfied with the work my company had undertaken for it, and a job half-­‐done. As the founder of a business that has operated chiefly on the strength of its reputation for close to 20 years, this could have had drastic consequences.”

Happily, that was a situation that never came to pass. “ With their help, we were not only able to leave our client in the position of having far better financial processes than when we started working with them, but I was personally invited to become a non-­‐executive advisor to them –something that would have been inconceivable prior to their involvement.”

Aside from practical guidance and solutions for cases in hand, are there long-­term benefits to working alongside Negotiation Alchemy?

According to this client, the answer is undoubtedly yes: “It’s impossible to work with someone of his expertise and not pick up knowledge and skills in the arts of negotiation and business psychology. But more than anything else, what I learnt from working with him was, in similar circumstances, to call him again.”

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