The most lucrative pitches are not about you making a good deal. They are about the other party making an even better deal.
The better the deal is for them, the better it is for you.
As with any good relationship, the best ones are those in which both sides feel like they got the better deal.
Here’s where many pitches get it wrong:
They approach the pitch as if it was about getting the better deal. They try to impress. Paint the promises a little brighter than they really are. Frame the offer in a way that allows them to charge a little over. And use a bunch of other subtle tricks and techniques to get more out of the deal.
But in my experience, you get even better deals if you turn it around and approach the pitch differently. It’s not about getting the better deal but about being the better deal.
Can you shift your perspective from what you want to what they desire?
What would make the deal so worthwhile for the other side that they can’t believe how lucky they are?
What would be a story that sounds almost too good to be true to them, not because you overpromised but because you cared so much that it really is that good (you even underpromised)?
If you can deliver on that, if you truly are a phenomenal deal, negotiations will be very different. What previously sounded like a steep ask or a tough sell to you, might now sound like a bargain to them.
