{"id":12834,"date":"2023-06-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/packaging-matters\/"},"modified":"2023-06-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T00:00:00","slug":"packaging-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/2023\/packaging-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Packaging matters"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There\u2019s a little store in my town that sells handmade soaps, bath salts, lotions, and other fancy toiletries. Everything is very nice, but there are numerous other stores in town that sell similar products. So, why is this store always my go-to for gifts? Literally, it\u2019s the packaging! Instead of just putting the product in a plain bag, they put it in a decorated paper bag with tissue paper and tie it with ribbon. This costs them nothing really, but it represents significant value to me and guarantees my future business.<\/p>\n

Packaging matters. How a deal is presented will either move it forward or make it difficult to close. Packaging a deal successfully requires a deep understanding of the other party’s needs, wants, and motivations. When negotiating, this might mean we need to rethink the way we present our proposal if it is initially rejected. Was it rejected because it wasn\u2019t enough (adding more might be expensive) or because it was presented in a way that didn\u2019t meet the other party\u2019s needs?<\/p>\n

A few years ago, before joining Scotwork, I was at an impasse with a potential client on a significant new piece of business. I worked for the events division of a well-known publisher, and the client had approached us to partner with them on their event. The publication I worked for was very protective of its brand, particularly as it related to editorial independence. As such, all partner events were designated as \u201chosted by\u201d (my organization) and \u201csponsored by\u201d\u00a0(<\/em>partner organization).However, my client had already run the event without us for two years and had no desire to be relegated from \u201chost\u201d to \u201csponsor.\u201d My legal team was firm regarding the designation, but I realized that how we packaged this point could be a deal-breaker for the client. I pushed Legal on whether there were any circumstances where we would allow them to be designated \u201chost.\u201d Legal considered this and came back with a proposal to change the designation of both parties to \u201cco-host,\u201d as long as our logo came first on all materials, and we retained editorial oversight of the agenda.The proposal had essentially remained the same in terms of deliverables, but we had changed the packaging \u2014 essentially keeping the deal\u2019s value while changing its shape. This arrangement met all stakeholder needs and allowed the deal to go through.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next time your proposal is rejected by the other side, try to understand if you just need to repackage the proposal to make it acceptable. Try the following . . .<\/p>\n