“Negotiate from a position of strength.” 

Of course you need customers, vendors, employees and vendors. What entrepreneur doesn’t? But you need to change your perspective in order to increase your chances of securing these important relationships. Instead of negotiating from a position of weakness, you must come to the table with tools and insights that put you more in the driver’s seat. Think about the following:

• Negotiate from a Position of Strength. Don’t allow any customer, investor, employee or vendor to hold your size or stage against you. Put differently, even though you really want (or need) a relationship, always negotiate from a position of strength. How do you do this when you have little leverage? It will require your entrepreneurial creativity to create leverage when little exists. Easier said than done. You’ve got to bring all of your creative juices to give yourself the influence and edge to negotiate with strength. You may not realize you already have this strength or won’t discover it until you refuse to negotiate from a position of weakness, regardless of the circumstances.
• Attitude. Sometimes your attitude, body language, and tone can be compelling enough to create leverage. Shift your passion for your vision into a natural confidence. Communicate that the success of your business is not a matter of “if” but “when”. Regardless of your stage, always negotiate from a position of strength. Pay attention to the principle of least interest even if your interest is greater and always behave like you want a relationship, not that you need a relationship.
• Never Let Anyone Be the Only Source. There will be times during your company in which you will only have one source for a solution. This most often comes up with vendors and investors but may also apply to customers and employees. Ideally, you should always have several sources for a solution. In early stages, this is not always possible. When it is not possible, the party that is your only solution should not know that they are your only source. In a perfect world, these relationships would appreciate that this venture is your vision and would never take advantage of the fact that they are the only source. Unfortunately, you must accept that some resources will leverage this knowledge to your disadvantage.