No stupid deals!

The first year was challenging. We focused on building our reputation while winning enough business to keep heat on and the phones working. We were not very discriminating about what work we would take – work was work.

But by mid 1997, it was clear that we needed to change how we sold business. We were spending too much time in fire fighting mode and falling short of expectations too often. Some projects were just bad revenue, costing us dearly in reputation and pain.

Our goal was to be an organization that delivered on our commitments reliably and to build the trust needed to sustain a healthy relationship for years.

To do this, someone had to put their foot down, which is exactly what I did. I put into effect the “No Stupid Deals” policy.

It makes a lot of sense. No one wants to be in a “stupid deal.”

Once we defined what made a deal “stupid,” we were able to identify and avoid them down the line. Once implemented, this policy yielded immediate benefits for our clients and for our business. Our quality of life improved because we were no longer spending too much time putting out fires and this increased client satisfaction as well. Our ability to manage expectations and deliver on our promises grew rapidly.

We also discovered that clients did not want to sign up for “stupid deals” either.

The first time I turned down a “stupid deal” was with a client I knew quite well. When he asked me why I would turn down the deal, I told him that his project didn’t qualify under our No Stupid Deals Policy. We even used those words. At first he was a little put off but once we explained the concept, he told me that he did not want to sign up for any stupid deals either. We were able to discuss how to modify the project into a high quality project with high probability to deliver successfully.

We signed the deal and proceeded to exceed the client’s expectations with an outstanding delivery.