Solid and Empty in Sales
Win-win sales are built on separation of the empty from the solid.
What could be considered solid in sales? It looks like goods and money.
After all, this is what is tangible. The very thing that the seller and the buyer exchange. But, alas, both, upon closer examination, are empty.
Goods come and go, new ones take their place. Today your goods are selling like hotcakes, but tomorrow no one needs them. New goods look better.
Money... what is money? Today they are hard currency, but tomorrow they turn into pieces of paper and nobody needs them.
What are people negotiating during the sale? Of course, price. So, maybe the price is solid?
Let's look inside the price: what does it consist of? Of other prices. The price of a product consists of cost and profit. Good. And the cost, what is it? A set of other prices: for materials, for components, for labor, for transportation, and so on. Can something solid consist of itself? Nope. While empty can.
Look at the price, what is it? A reflection of greed. Today I bought materials for a dollar, paid a dollar for labor, and sold the finished goods for two and a half dollars. Tomorrow, the owner of the materials decided that one dollar was not enough, and demanded a dollar and a half from me. And the workers decided that they did not want to hunch over one dollar, and demanded two from me. Then, I decided to make a bigger profit, dollar rather than fifty cents. As a result, I sell the same product for four and a half dollars.
Has the product changed? Not a bit. What has changed, then? Why has it almost doubled in price? Only one thing changed: at each stage of Value Chain, a feeling of greed escalated. Can we hope that tomorrow the price will be at least the same, not higher? It is doubtful. The only thing you can be sure of: it will not fall a penny. Greed is irreversible. So, the price is also empty.
Maybe the terms of exchange are solid? It is also doubtful. Let's see why.
What is included in the terms of exchange? There are only two terms.
The first term is that the buyer receives exactly the goods that he bought. More precisely, the goods the seller promised him. Can he firmly count on this? Hardly. He might receive the rotten goods. He might receive goods that do not fulfill the promise. Or even a completely different product. How could this be called “solid”?
The second term is that the seller receives the promised payment. Also no guarantee. Has the buyer agreed on the price and terms of payment? So what? Does this ensure that payment will be made? Can the seller be sure that he will receive the full amount on time? Does he have a guarantee that the money will not be fake? No. As you could see, this is empty, not solid, too.
So is there really something solid in sales? It turns out there is! This is the reason why people sell and buy: satisfaction of their needs.
It is strange, isn't it? Things that look completely real - a product, money, a contract (written or oral) - turned out to be empty, unreliable. But a thing that is completely intangible seems to be solid and reliable.
How come? Satisfaction of needs as the goal of the sale does not change at all regardless of who you deal with, how the negotiations are going on, what the intentions of the parties are with respect to each other, how both sides will behave during the negotiations and after the exchange. Each party is exchanging with one single goal, to satisfy their needs. This is solid. Everything else is superficial, empty.
What is this philosophy about? It says us what should be or shouldn't be discussed during the negotiations. Of course, it depends on the parties' intentions.
If you want to benefit from the other side, then, of course, you need to talk about nothing. On this basis, it is easy to manipulate the other person, it is easy to divert him from his own interests and drive the conversation to your satisfaction. If he loses, if he suffers serious losses, it's not your business, this is his own problem. His interests do not interest you. Therefore, take him to the empty ground, let him drown there. You need to get your own benefit from this deal. He will probably also pull you to empty ground so that you drown. Well, then one outsmarts another.
If you want the exchange to be honest, mutually beneficial, win-win, you need only talk about solid and avoid talking about empty. Focus your attention on meeting the needs of the other person, but at the same time do not forget about yours. If both could satisfy their needs as a result of the exchange, this is a mutually beneficial, win-win exchange. But for this purpose you should talk only about solid.
Both the seller and the buyer during the sale have two thoughts.
The first is, whether what I get will satisfy the need for which I got involved in the sale.
The second is, whether I suffer serious losses by giving something my own in exchange.
These are the main topics of discussion and negotiations. This is solid.
Definition of Solid and Empty | Sales Philosophy. Solid vs. Empty | How to Talk Solid