I was reading an email post from Jonathan Stark recently around the concept of a win-win with your customers. A little sidebar here, if you provide a service to a group this has been one of the most valuable emails subscriptions that I’ve signed up for recently. Sign up here: https://jonathanstark.com/

Anyways, I was reading about the concept that Jonathan was presenting about a win-win and I almost glossed over a big point that I’ve always missed. With the idea of a win-win, I think it is always seen as a form of compromise. It is a way that we can hope to strive for in a conversation or negotiation, but something that rarely happens. Does a win-win scenario even exist? Or is just something that’s in the negotiation handbook that we’ve always heard about?

Think about a recent purchase that you’ve made – a purchase that you are exceptionally happy with. If you were actually happy with the purchase, I’m guessing you walked away with a smile on your face and so did the individual you bought it from. For this example I’ll use the story of a brewery that I’m very familiar with in Wichita, KS. I know when I walk in there I’m going to get a product of amazing craft beer and I will leave with a smile on my face, feeling good about spending my hard earned money at this business.

From the perspective of the brewery, they worked hard to brew the actual beer, set up a brand that will resonate with the customers and deliver a tasty product. So when they saw me walk away with the beer in my hand and my money in their register, they greeted their next customer with a smile.

I provided them with value by giving them my money, and they provided me value by giving me a high-quality craft beer. There was no compromise and no negotiation needed. The We both left the transaction happier than we were before, a true win-win.

The real deciding factor here is what each of us determine “value” as. Once we know what is driving our customer’s perceived value of our product, we can create a transaction that is not only beneficial to us, but to the customer as well. Your customer knows their business the best, so if they are walking away, pleased with the value that was given, it will not only create a returning customer, but it will more than likely help their business to grow.

So how do you create a win-win? Find out what you and the other party value and create something that fills both of those needs.