Debra Schindler Boultinghouse, President of Genesis BCS
Last week some of the Genesis team and I were fortunate enough to attend the Professional Women’s Exchange Group (PWEG) Summer Luncheon at the Houston Racquet Club, which also happens to be a loyal customer. They use several of our product lines in cluding VoIP from ShoreTel, Wireless Networking from Ruckus, and a surveillance system.
I’ve been a member of PWEG for years, and I’m always thrilled when we get together to learn more about each other’s businesses, lives, and strategies. There was delicious food, great conversation, and a phenomenal presentation on negotiation. Six members of the Genesis BCS team were able to make it to the luncheon.
Our guest speaker was Liz Lara Carreňo, whom I was familiar with through my Goldman Sachs class (which I’ve blogged about before). Liz has over 20 years experience working with Continental Airlines and is now owner of LLC-Strategies, a consultancy firm and partner of Carreno Group Inc. Most currently she is the executive director of a non-profit in Houston, K-9’s for Cops. Needless to say she is extremely knowledgeable about negotiation and how it affects every aspect of business today.
Being in business for over thirty years, I was beginning to think I knew pretty much all there was to know about negotiation. But was I wrong. We all participated in a negotiation personality test and classified ourselves as either a driver, expressive, analytical or amiable negotiator. The genesis sales team had at least one of each which I believe makes our office dynamic even more fun to be around. I was a driver – is anyone surprised!
In my opinion, the most interesting and relevant point Liz made was that negotiation isn’t about winning or losing. It’s not about coming out on top or getting the price you want. Successful negotiations create long-term relationships that result in both parties truly “winning”. Negotiating with a win-win attitude means the negotiation is going to be fun because it is good for everyone. An example Liz gave was when she negotiated for more trained K9’s than she imagined she could place quickly. She got a good price for all the dogs and raised the money to help with the cost. Even better, she was able to place all those beautiful, smart, committed animals immediately in Texas!
In my opinion, this “win-win” negotiation style is what keeps Genesis growing. We want what is best for our customers and our company, and keep this in mind when negotiating business. We never try to take advantage of our customers – a philosophy I’ve worked to cement in our company culture since day one. Where many enterprises may see a sale or installation as an end to a relationship, in our eyes it’s just the beginning of a decades-long relationship with a customer.
-Debra Schindler Boultinghouse