For many years, salespeople have asked the same question in negotiation seminars: Who should make the first offer? The typical response for years was, “let the other side go first.” The reasoning behind this was simple:  You don’t want to make an offer only to find out later that you could have done better. However, studies have shown that this strategy is actually ineffective. If you want to become a more effective negotiator, you need to learn the powerful psychology of anchoring. The Anchor Rule states that the number a person sees or hears before making a guess influences that guess. In other words, the outcome of a negotiation is highly driven by that first offer, and this is called anchoring. 

What is Anchoring and Why Does it Work?

Anchoring refers to a strategy in which one party makes the first offer in hopes of determining the outcome of the negotiation. This strategy has been tested over and over again and the results are almost always the same: the person who makes the first offer controls the outcome of the negotiation. If you let the other party make the first offer, there’s a high probability that their first offer will not be their best. However, this number is now the standard by which the rest of the negotiation will be based. So, why would you let someone else determine the kind of deal you will make. No one knows what deal is best for you other than you. 

Most business people have never heard of anchoring and are not familiar with the way it impacts a negotiation. Therefore, it is common for a salesperson to get anchored right away by the other party. Instead of allowing this to happen, it is important to recognize the tactic and put a stop to it right away. 

How to Overcome Anchoring in Negotiations

Do Your Research: Take the time to adequately prepare for the negotiation and research the background of the other party. Make sure you understand what is motivating them and find out their financial position so you know what they can and cannot afford. Additionally, take some time to find out what your competitors are offering and keep that in mind when negotiating pricing. 

Propose a Counter-Anchor: The goal of a counter-anchor is to immediately respond and discredit the first offer before countering with your ideal price. For example, say your counterpart offers $20,000 for your service but you cannot accept anything less than $30,000. Before countering with a different dollar amount, make it known that their offer is far lower than you can accept. Explain your reasoning and the value that they will be getting and then share the price that you would like. This establishes a new anchor and moves the negotiation in the right direction. 

Reject the Anchor Price: In some cases, you will find that the other party is not willing to budge on their offer and in this case you should politely reject the anchor. When you reject the anchor, ask if you can revisit this conversation after they have had more time to think about it. You can also start over and discuss a different offer or set of terms that better align with their budget. This provides an opportunity for both parties to reexamine their goals so they can move forward.

In recent years, the case for inclusivity in the workplace has grown stronger than ever. These days, companies are paying much more attention to inclusion and diversity, and for good reason. Recent studies have shown that businesses in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are more likely to have above average profitability than companies in lower quartiles. By incorporating inclusion strategies, you are not only promoting a more positive work culture, you are also taking steps to outperform your less diverse peers. Here are just a few ways you can demonstrate a true commitment to inclusion. 

Educate Your Leaders

As with anything else, change happens from the top and inclusion is no exception. If your organization truly wants to meet the needs of a more diverse and inclusive work environment, it begins with educating the leaders. That’s why it is recommended that companies hold mandatory training for people at executive levels. It should include information regarding what inclusion is and why it is important. Then, as a small group, these leaders can discuss strategies for fostering inclusivity within their company. More importantly, they can learn to lead by example. 

Form an Inclusion Team

Consider establishing an inclusion team of at least 8-10 influential leaders who are dedicated and committed to inclusion. You need people who have status within the organization and are willing to advocate for inclusivity in the workplace. This group should be involved in goal-setting focused on hiring, retaining, and advancing a more diverse workforce. They should also meet to review challenges, address issues, and handle any employee engagement issues. 

Celebrate Employee Differences

One of the best ways to show employees that you support their backgrounds, traditions, and differences is to invite them to share their culture and tradition with others. For example, you could host a potluck luncheon to represent different nationalities. You can provide a meditation or prayer room to support religious diversity. You can observe and celebrate holidays and traditions from around the world. The idea is to create an environment where employees feel proud of who they are. 

Develop a Training Program

Diversity training is not only for the leaders and executives, but it is important for everyone within an organization. Diversity training helps employees understand how cultural differences can impact how people work and interact with one another. Companies should focus on training that is relevant to their specific organization and that aligns with their company mission. 

Mix Up Your Teams

A key part of diversity is learning from people with different voices, experiences, values, and cultures. A diverse cross-section of talent is more likely to yield better results than a team of similar like-minded individuals. Therefore, teams should be made up of different genders, cultures, ages, and backgrounds in order to produce innovative ideas and multiple perspectives. 

Create a Safe Environment

Finally, it is important to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion because it establishes a stronger sense of community and creates an environment where employees feel safe being themselves. Encourage and embrace employee differences and set high standards for all employees to treat each other with respect.

There used to be a time when business models were built on closing sales and beating out competitors. While this may have worked in the past, today’s customers are looking for more. They want relationships, experiences, and a business that benefits society as a whole. Despite these business challenges, there are new ways to win customers. With the right planning and decision making, winning can become a reality. Here are some tips and strategies for winning customers despite your business challenges.

Identify Your Target Customer

In order to build a profile of potential customers, you need to have a good idea of who those customers are and how you can reach them. In order to figure out your target customers, think about who would be most likely to use your product or service. Identify things like a target age group, gender, profession, etc. Then, analyze exactly what they want and how you can lure them. 

Identify Customer Pain Points

The next step is to identify customer pain points and how your product or service can help solve these problems. Knowing pain points allows you to tailor your message and communicate more effectively the benefits of your business. 

Make It Personal

Personalization is one of the most popular current marketing trends. Research has revealed that customers are seeking a more personalized shopping experience. There are various ways to achieve this personalization. For starters, you can develop customer profiles to gather information about your typical customer’s needs, wants, and expectations. You can also interact with your customers through social media channels to provide immediate support. You should seek regular feedback from customers and train employees to provide more personalized customer service. 

Provide Live Customer Engagement

You can make the buying process easier and more enjoyable by communicating with customers via live engagement. There are a number of tools such as video chat, voice chat, and product demos that can make interacting with customers easier and more effective. This method of communication is more likely to win over customers. 

Build Trust with Clients

It’s not enough to simply drum up new business leads. In order to build your brand, you also need to focus on building strong relationships with existing clients. You can build lasting relationships by providing timely responses and communication, personalizing your services, showing appreciation, including customers in your business vision, and exceeding customer expectations. 

As a business professional, there are times when you need to influence others to perform certain tasks, support decisions, or even purchase your product or service. You have probably found yourself in situations where you are selling ideas, seeking support, or asking for something. In order to achieve your goals, you need to be able to persuade your audience to accept your influence tactics. How can you do this effectively? The degree to which you influence and persuade the other party will determine how successfully you sell your ideas. Therefore, consider these tips for effectively persuading your audience during a negotiation. 

Step One: Establish Credibility

Credibility is incredibly important to the art of persuasion because people are more likely to be persuaded by someone they trust. Credibility consists of two factors: (1) your level of expertise (2) your relationships.  If you demonstrate a genuine knowledge of your subject matter, your audience is likely to associate what you are saying with truth. For example, if you talk to a car salesman who is extremely knowledgeable about the features of various cars, you are more likely to trust what he is saying. Expertise is the first step in building credibility, so spend time learning as much as you can about your subject matter before your negotiation. 

Relationship building is another important factor in establishing credibility. If your audience sees that you have a good relationship with people they already trust and respect, the more likely they will be to respect you as well- and find you credible. 

Step Two: Involve the Audience

People are motivated by things that matter to them which is why their involvement in the process is so important. People will be more attentive if the topic is relevant to their self-interest. Therefore, tailor the conversation to discuss why the particular subject, idea, or product that you are pitching will be valuable to your audience. Make them realize that what you are arguing is for their benefit. A great way to do this is by conducting a demonstration and asking your audience to participate. It’s much easier to persuade an audience when they see for themselves how your idea can benefit them. 

Step Three: Provide Evidence

Another important persuasion technique is showing evidence. People are more likely to be persuaded when you present real evidence that what you are trying to convince them to support actually works. Evidence could be in the form of numbers and statistics. It could also be a physical demonstration. For example, this carpet cleaner works and I’ll show you. 

Step Four: Make an Emotional Connection with Your Audience 

The final step in persuading your audience is to connect with them on an emotional level. Research has shown that decision-making is an emotional process so you want to appeal to emotions through illustrative language and even storytelling. It’s also important to get to know your audience on a more personal level. Find common ground such as sports, hobbies, family, or some other personal connection. You want to see your audience as human and you want to make yourself more approachable as well. Oftentimes people are persuaded simply because they like you, and not always because they are completely sold on your product or idea. Remember that you are selling yourself as much as your idea, so seek ways to connect emotionally with your audience. 

The ability to negotiate successfully is a must-have skill in today’s competitive business world. There are many occasions when you may find yourself in a situation where you have to negotiate, so it’s important to know the secrets to success. Here are a few tried and true tips for successful negotiations in any profession. 

1. Build a Strong Personal Relationship

Imagine a random person telling you to buy this new coffee maker for $200 because it is worth it. Chances are, you will assume they are just trying to sell you on something. Now, imagine your best friend tells you the same thing. How would your reaction differ? A positive relationship can have a huge impact on how we perceive things because it engages feelings of trust. The same is true for both personal and professional relationships. People tend to accept more when it is suggested by someone they trust. Therefore, spend some time creating a strong bond before meeting the other party. Chat over the phone, send a few emails, maybe even meet in person for coffee prior to the negotiation. Think about the long term benefits of a positive relationship. 

2. Gather Information

Before entering into a negotiation, you need to arm yourself with as much information as possible. Learn everything you can about the other party including their motivations for the negotiation, their pain points, who you are competing against, and what the other party is hoping to gain out of the negotiation. You also need to know your own position, strengths, and weaknesses as well as those of your opponent. 

3. Know What You Want to Achieve Before You Begin

A successful negotiator knows what they want before they even begin the discussion. They also know what they will not accept, or their walk away point. Be realistic about your goals, as you are unlikely to get everything you want. Rather, prioritize your needs versus your wants and know in advance what is most important to you and what parts you are willing to concede. 

4. Listen More and Talk Less

You may not realize that your affinity for talking could be costing you a successful negotiation. The balance of talking and listening during negotiations is extremely important. The most effective way is to spend 70% of  your time listening and only 30% talking. Active listening allows you to really hear what your opponent is saying so you can truly understand their needs. Only through listening can you analyze the facts to make informed decisions. 

5. Always Seek a Win-Win Outcome

All too frequently people think of negotiations as having a winner and a loser. Successful negotiators, however, see negotiation as an opportunity for both sides to win. The ultimate goal of a negotiation should be to establish a win-win solution for all parties. When everyone benefits, everyone walks away happy and you will have created a positive relationship with your opponent. This increases the likelihood of them doing business again with you in the future. 

6. Have a Plan B

You should be prepared with a backup plan because there is always a chance that things may not work according to what you planned. Contingency planning allows you to be prepared for the unexpected so you can avoid making a deal you might regret. It also prevents you from feeling panicked in unfavorable situations. 

As the year comes to an end and companies are closing out their final quarter, they are starting to assess their plans for the new work year. This is when businesses adjust procedures and set goals to ensure they are on track to stay the course for the upcoming fiscal year. It is incredibly important for businesses to make smart decisions today to ensure positive results in the future. Here we will take a look at 10 tips for keeping your business on track. 

1. Assess Your Finances

In order to ensure the growth of your business, you must first deal with your finances. It can be helpful to enlist the help of professionals who can offer advice surrounding lending and contingency planning so you can make sure you are on the right track as far as your financial planning. Just as people hire finance professionals to handle their personal finances, the same is recommended for businesses. The knowledge and expertise of experienced financial professionals are fundamental to keeping your business on track. 

2. Consider Your Competitors

In addition to looking into your own company, it’s also important to assess the successes and failures of your competitors so you can get a better idea of what works and what doesn’t. Find out what they are doing right or wrong in order to boost your own brand. It’s competition analysis that often leads to innovation.

3. Maintain an Online Presence

No matter what industry you are in, it is important to have an online presence. The internet is a great way to connect with, engage, inform, and communicate with your target audience. In addition to having an informative and engaging website, you can use the power of social media to reach new audiences and drive traffic to your website. 

4. Set Goals and Benchmarks

It is imperative that you have clear goals and objectives if you want to achieve progress. It is equally important to develop benchmarks with which you can measure your progress. These goals should be shared with your entire organization and the benchmarks can be used to motivate and incentivize your team. 

5. Eliminate the Unnecessary

Part of assessing your performance for the year includes identifying what didn’t work. This is the time to eliminate any products or services that didn’t sell as well as projects or campaigns that didn’t see the desired results. In order to stay on track for the next year, start by eliminating the things that didn’t work so you can make room for something new. In addition, cut out the fat by eliminating unnecessary equipment that you could sell or trade-in. Finally, although it’s not the most attractive part of running a business, it’s sometimes necessary to eliminate positions or let go of employees if they don’t bring value to your bottom line. 

6. Recruit Good Talent

At the end of the day, it’s the employees that really contribute to the ultimate success of a business. Therefore, invest in recruiting good talent. It’s important to think beyond the short term, and look to the future when filling roles. Look for candidates who possess the right skills that will benefit the company over time. 

7. Conduct Regular Reviews

The world of business is dynamic and there will always be changes to the market. This means you will constantly need to change your marketing strategies and adjust your business plans to meet the demand of the changing market. The only way to ensure that your company is moving in the right direction is by conducting regular reviews of your business model. 

8. Research Opportunities for Growth

Stay attune to happenings within your industry and stay up to date with your industry’s latest trends. This is where you will gain knowledge and find unique opportunities for growth. Learn as much as you can about your industry and your competitors so you can discover new ideas and strategies for growing your business. 

9. Assess Your Marketing Strategy

The end of the year is a good time to evaluate growth for the year. If you had a tough time bringing on new business and attracting new customers, it may be time to look at a new marketing strategy. Assess your target audience and adjust your marketing strategy as needed to reach your target market. 

10. Embrace Change

While it’s certainly important to set goals for the new year, it’s also important to remember that change is inevitable. You may need to change your strategy or rebrand your business if that’s what it takes to remain current and relevant. A successful business is one that embraces change and adapts accordingly. The ability to be flexible can help you jump at unforeseen opportunities.

Negotiating a better salary is at the forefront of many workers’ minds. In fact, nearly 40% of the workforce feels like they are underpaid for their job. However, nearly 37% of those same people refrain from asking for a raise out of fear. At some point in your career, you may feel like the value of your work is not reflected in your compensation. When this time comes, it’s important to know how to approach the subject objectively, and understand how to effectively negotiate for a higher salary. Don’t let the fear of negotiating hold you back from reaching your full potential. Instead, build evidence for your case and learn how to negotiate with confidence with the following tips. 

Know Your Market Value

The first step in getting paid what you are worth is to figure out your real market value. In other words, you need to find out what other people are getting paid for similar jobs. You can visit sites such as indeed.com or payscale.com to get a general idea of what someone with your experience, knowledge, and skillset is getting paid. Be sure to take things like geographic location and cost of living for your area into consideration. Now, look at this range as a starting point, and then consider your own experience and any additional skills that may add value to this number. If you walk into a negotiation without this information, you are at the mercy of your supervisor. 

Be Prepared to Show Evidence

It’s not enough to simply walk in and ask for a higher salary. You need to be able to demonstrate why you deserve it. In order to build your case, you will need evidence and examples of the value you bring to the table. Show how you contribute to the bottom line with concrete examples throughout your career, including in your current role. Share specific examples of how you have achieved driving revenue, savings, or increased efficiency within your role. This is also a good time to share awards, achievements, or accolades that you have received, as well as any special training or certifications you hold. 

Offer a Range Rather than a Specific Number

When discussing salary, it’s always better to have a range in mind as opposed to a fixed number. Having a range helps you negotiate and find compromise more easily. That said, make sure your range is a bit higher than you would expect, allowing your supervisor room to come down. Otherwise, they may offer the lowest end of the range which is below your expectations. 

Make the First Offer

While this is often up for debate, making the first offer puts the power in your hands. Otherwise, you risk your employer suggesting a number that is far below your expectations. All too often, supervisors will throw out a number just to see if you will take it, and then it can be uncomfortable to ask for a higher salary. You can avoid this by making the first offer yourself. 

Be Confident in Your Delivery

It is so important to maintain confidence throughout the negotiation process. Bring your game face and don’t sell yourself short. Bringing confidence lets your employer know that they are serious and it is more impressive than demonstrating fear or nervousness. The worst-case scenario is being told no, so you really have nothing to lose by asking for what you want with confidence. In addition, if the employer isn’t willing to increase your salary, you might consider other perks instead. If they aren’t willing to meet you in any of these negotiations, it might be worth moving on. After all, an employer that won’t pay you fair market for your skills is likely to undervalue you in other ways as well. 

Every organization wants to hire employees who will drive their business toward success. In today’s competitive market, however, attracting top talent requires much more than an enticing job advertisement. Companies have to rethink their marketing efforts and come up with creative ways to make sure their brand stands out from the crowd. While it may seem like money is the simple way to attract the best talent, that’s not always the case. Today’s professionals are looking for more than just a generous paycheck. In today’s business world, everything matters…whether it’s tangible or intangible. In this competitive and crowded market, it’s becoming increasingly critical for employers to make sure they get noticed. Here are some things you can do to attract top talent for your company. 

Define Your Brand

Your brand is the driving force behind the success of your hiring efforts. This is how you communicate your unique worth and value to your customers and employees. Therefore, it’s important to showcase the very best your company has to offer. This includes why your company is important to the community, what its key values are, why your employees choose to work for you and what qualities make your brand unique. Having a well-defined brand will help you attract strong, talented candidates who are eager to work for a company that aligns with their own values. 

Foster a Positive Company Culture

Your company culture should be a reflection of your organization’s core mission, vision, and values. When someone asks your employees what it’s really like to work at your company, what will they say? Will they speak positively about your company leaders as role models? Do your employees feel valued and appreciated for their contributions? Does your company challenge them to strengthen their skillset and advance professionally? Do they feel accepted and welcome in the workplace? If you create a culture where employees feel happy and engaged, this will attract other talented employees who want to be part of your culture. 

Pay Well

While money may not be everything, it is a very important something. Remember that your employees are trying to make a living and at the end of the day, a decent paycheck never hurts. In addition, a well-compensated employee is more likely to stay in their job long term, which can be very important for the overall success of your company. When employees are paid well, they also feel appreciated for their hard work and this motivates them to continue pursuing excellence. 

Analyse Your EVP (Employee Value Proposition)

Your EVP includes the list of incentives and benefits that you offer your employees in addition to their salary. This may include bonus systems, flexible working schedules, employee discounts, paid vacation, additional family leave, staff socials, and club memberships. Today’s employees are looking beyond the paycheck for jobs that have lucrative benefits. By adapting your EVP to suit these wants, you increase your chances of attracting talented candidates. 

Offer Career Progression

Highly talented professionals want to be part of an organization that they can grow with which is why the opportunity for career progression is one of the most important aspects of the candidate’s decision. These candidates are thinking about the long-term so companies should focus on implementing a training program that includes professional development and advanced educational opportunities. You will have a better chance of recruiting top talent if they know there are opportunities for advancement in your company. 

Develop Employee Ambassadors

What better way is there to entice talent than by using your own employees? Your own employees are the best ambassadors of your company and they can be a powerful tool in attracting talent. After all, prospective employees look to the current employees to get an idea of how your company actually operates. Designate engaging and committed employees to be your ambassadors so they can share your company mission, values, and culture with prospective employees. With a little training, these brand ambassadors can recruit top talent and reach candidates you may not have otherwise been able to access.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of new businesses fail within the first two years and nearly half of them don’t survive past the fifth year. This begs the question, “How can you make sure your business is a success?” The fact is, starting a business is never easy and entrepreneurs are bound to make mistakes along the way. Unfortunately, some of these mistakes can end up being the demise of your business. Here we will take a look at seven of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make so you can avoid them and keep your business moving in the right direction. 

1. Hiding from Problems

Things are going to go wrong from time to time and when they do, you should never hide from them. It is imperative that you address any problems head on and seek a solution right away. If you pretend nothing is wrong, you will continue to dig a deeper hole until you are in so deep that it’s difficult or even impossible to get out. It’s only when you face problems that you can find solutions. 

2. Not Creating a Budget

Dealing with your finances should be at the forefront of your business plan. You should be able to account for every dollar that is spent on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. You must have a clearly defined budget so you can plan for all expenses. Furthermore, once you establish a budget, you must stick to it. A realistic budget will help keep your business healthy and sustainable.

3.  Having High Fixed Costs

Your fixed costs are your expenses that you owe every month such as rent, salaries, and cost of supplies. If you have high fixed costs and not enough customers, you will quickly find yourself in debt. Think carefully about what expenses you really need and make wise choices. For example, you may need an office to operate your business but you don’t need to rent prime real estate. On the other hand, be deliberate about investing wisely in things that do matter such as paying higher salaries for more qualified employees. 

4. Failing to Stay Organized

Running a business can be crazy and chaotic at times. After all, there are dozens of things happening at the same time. Therefore, it is critical that you have an organizational system to help you keep track of your daily operations. You should have a clear understanding of exactly what is happening each day and what needs to be accomplished each day. If you fail to stay organized, you will quickly lose control of your business. 

5. Failing to Understand Your Target Audience

A common mistake entrepreneurs make is not taking the time to really learn and understand their market and what customers are looking for. It’s important to remember that a great product doesn’t necessarily translate into a successful business. You have to be able to recognize the needs and wants of your target audience and market your product successfully to this group. Therefore, test your products and services before starting your business. If you don’t, you have no idea whether or not people will want to buy it. 

6. Ignoring Your Competitors

Ignoring your competitors can be a fatal mistake. You have to be aware of your competition and how your business compares or you are surely going to fail. For instance, if you are selling your product for $10 and a business down the street is selling something similar for $6, which one do you think people will buy? This is a basic example, but it demonstrates that you must be knowledgeable about your competitors’ pricing, marketing strategies, employment opportunities, and overall product performance if you want to succeed at selling your product. 

7. Not Investing in Marketing

We have heard the saying, “Build it and they will come” but this isn’t accurate when it comes to running a successful business. Without effective marketing, no one will know where to come or why. All too often small businesses are reluctant to spend money on marketing because they are trying to prioritize their spending. However, a marketing strategy should be one of the main areas that a business does invest in. It is important to develop a marketing plan that encompasses a variety of platforms including email marketing, social media, advertising on TV or in magazines, and also advertising in person at various events. In order to be successful, you have to build your brand awareness through a marketing plan. 

Negotiating a contract with a vendor can be even more difficult than making the deal in the first place. It requires a different strategy altogether. That’s because getting a company to agree to use your products and services is only half the battle. Once you have convinced them to work with you, you may still have to negotiate the terms of the contract. Small businesses, especially, may lack the funds and resources of a large operation and must therefore master the art of successfully negotiating with vendors. They must find a way to source their supplies while also gaining maximum revenue. This requires ingenuity, flexibility, and the art of successful negotiations. You may not be able to control every aspect of pricing with your vendors, but you can increase profit margins by strengthening your supplier relationships. Consider the following tips for negotiating the best rates with your vendors. 

Sell Yourself as Someone Valuable 

Vendors are just like any other business- they want to sell as much of their product or service as possible. When negotiating a price with your vendors, let them know that you plan to be a repeat customer who will be bringing regular business their way over the long term. Give them an idea of how much you plan to purchase from them and projections for long term purchasing. This can give you some leverage to negotiate better pricing. 

Think Beyond Price Alone

If the supplier is unable to budge on price, you can still negotiate other things that can help lower your overall expenses. For example, you might be able to negotiate a lower down payment, a discount for purchasing in bulk, or free shipping costs. You can sometimes even receive a discount for early payment. Take some time to think outside the box and consider all of the terms before agreeing to a price. 

Define Your Priorities

It’s essential to write down a list of what is most important to you prior to negotiating with your vendor. This will help you set clear goals and devise a strategy for meeting those goals. A few things to consider are price, delivery time, payment terms, shipping costs, maintenance agreements, and value for the money. Before you negotiate, draw up a detailed plan of which items are most important to you. 

Don’t Accept the First Offer

You should never accept the first offer, but rather make a low counter offer in return. The other party will likely come back with a revised number. You also want to ask about additional costs such as repairs, maintenance, shipping, expedited delivery, etc. This is the time to use your bargaining power. For instance, try asking for bulk discounts if you are a large buyer. You can also tell the vendor you need time to look over the contract and you will get back to them. Never allow yourself to be pressured into making a quick decision. 

Be an Easy Customer

At the end of the day, sometimes it all comes down to relationships. Regardless of how much business you can give your supplier, they won’t want to work with you if you are a problem. It’s important to be considerate of their needs as well and seek mutually beneficial agreements so you can maintain a good supplier relationship. If you treat the relationship like a partnership, it can really pay off for you in the long run.