When I was going to college, I worked in the service industry. Both of my kids worked in the service industry while they went to school. They put up with long hours of dealing with intoxicated people. Some were demanding. Others were fun to deal with. Which do you think got the best service? If you think of waiters and waitresses as “the help”, you probably are left wanting for service.
There are some companies who utilize a “good cop; bad cop” process to try to get what they want. Is it successful? Who do you prefer to deal with? If trying to trick someone into buying from you is your sales process you will have a short career. If trying to intimidate someone into giving you a better deal is your process for buying, I believe you will find it doesn’t work well.
I once had a company I was negotiating an agreement with. I was working at the President level and he agreed with and signed our scope of work. The Vice President wasn’t aware that he had already approved and signed. She sent me a text on a Sunday evening, asking me to call her to work on the pricing. She was trying to tell me that I was charging too much, and she wanted a better price, or she would have to walk away. I didn’t return the call and we worked with the President from that point forward.
My point is that we all enjoy working with people who show us respect. We work harder for those that appreciate what we are doing. If you feel you must threaten the people you work with to get them to do a great job, you probably will get less than if you work with them in a respectful manner.
When I was interviewing candidates for sales roles, I would purposely have them sit with my assistant for ten minutes before the interview. If they treated my assistant with respect, I knew they would treat our customers with respect. If they didn’t, I would get a call in the middle of the interview from my assistant. I knew that they had not treated her well. It shortened the interview process.
Long term relationships come from mutually beneficial business dealings. The long-term relationships are the most profitable for both parties. Do you utilize a process to find the pain for your customer and solve it? Do you buy from someone who you see as a commodity? What do you do to make your business relationships mutually beneficial?