You'd think a deal both sides want to close would be easy.
I spent years in banking getting paid only when deals closed. Everyone at the table wanted the same outcome. It was never easy. Not once.
Now I sit on the buy side, and I finally understand why. Wanting the same outcome is not the same as working the same way. Every deal picks a direction early: compete to win the deal, or collaborate to work the problem.
Competitive deals still close. They close tired. Both sides spend months protecting positions and walk away counting what they gave up. That works fine when you never see the other side again.
It falls apart when the seller is staying on to run the business. Then the negotiation is not the last step of the deal. It is the first day of the partnership.
That is why we would rather work a hard problem with a straight shooter than win a negotiation against someone we have to work with on Monday morning.
You can win the deal and lose the partner.
First published on LinkedIn.