One of my international partners once said, “You never know what will happen if you just say, Hello.” I think he had women in mind…, but there’s more to it than that. “You never know what will happen if you just ask.”
There are aggressive people and businesses that can be obnoxious in their unrestrained expectations of what the world owes them. Ask, ask, ask. There are those who seem compelled to always ask for more – no matter what’s already been offered (and sometimes accepted).
Most of us have more reasonable expectations of how things typically work. We need something; we negotiate in good faith; we pay. It doesn’t have to be an endless game of pointless negotiations asking for more. That’s fine most of the time.
Occasionally, we bump into or create situations where reasonable expectations are cast aside. We ask for something that, at first blush, seems outlandish but…
Would You Give Us A Distillery?
We were creating a model teaching distillery. I was sure that the leading U.S. equipment manufacturer would not be interested in our little project compared to the giant distilleries where it typically placed its beautiful copper distilling works. So, I got myself introduced to a leading German manufacturer trying to secure what we needed at no or low cost.
I floated the idea that it would be a great opportunity for them to get a better foothold in the U.S. market if their equipment was featured in our new facility. I suggested, “You can absorb the equipment cost in your marketing budget.” Somehow, it worked. There was a tentative agreement to proceed, some diagrams were being drawn, and a good option for us was at hand.
To my complete surprise, one of the owners of the premiere U.S. company called me. I was so new to the industry that I had never even met anyone in their company, much less visited it. He had heard about our project and wanted their equipment to be used in our training distillery! [You know what they say about making assumptions…]
I explained my incorrect assumptions about his company, which is why we approached their German competitor. I told him that we were about to finalize a deal with the Germans. He said that his company had to be involved. He asked what they needed to do to make that happen. My silent reaction: You’ve got to be kidding me…
I told him that I intended to be honest with the Germans, who had been so cooperative. With his permission, I could explain to them that the American company is prepared to provide more extensive equipment, immediate local maintenance, regular lecturers for our classes, sales leads for our beverage development company as well as for the new distillery company. And, we would need it all for free.
I asked the owner if all that was workable. He was in favor, but had to get permission from the other family owners. A senior family member couldn’t grasp why they should make such a gift. I suggested we pay a nominal monthly leasing fee to pacify the senior owner. That did it. They agreed.
I went back to the Germans’ fine U.S. representative, who already had gotten permission from headquarters in Germany to do our deal. Yuk… It was uncomfortable, but I explained exactly what happened. This gentleman said, “That is an excellent arrangement that we can’t match and you can’t miss.”
We finalized everything with the U.S. company. In due course, a beautiful, copper, training distillery was up and running. It was a powerful collaboration with the wonderful people who led that American company, who delivered as promised. So did we, sending them lots of well-vetted clients from our courses and operations.
You never know what might happen if you ask…
Would You Give Us Your House?
The day I met Chad, I almost dismissed him as a blowhard. He and his locker-room pal told me, “People give us their houses.” I was skeptical. “Yep, sometimes we ask for them. Sometimes they ask us to take them.”
From representing collection companies years before, I knew that debtors could become hopeless, overwhelmed by mounting debt and relentless collection pressure from multiple creditors. But giving away their houses? It sounded like exploitation. Chad insisted that he often asked people if they wanted to give him their house and they did. Really??? Chad invited me to see for myself.
We visited a family living in bleak physical and financial conditions. They had been pleading with Chad to take their house and clear their debt. Sick of the struggle, they planned to move in with extended family. In my presence Chad said, “You’re sure you want to give me your house?” He figured out how to flip the property, pay off their debt, and still make a profit. He also gave the family some cash to help them get settled. They were surprised and deeply grateful.
That scenario played out repeatedly, though not always in such dire circumstances. Some people simply wanted out—lacking the skills, time, or patience to deal with it all. Seeing how Chad’s approach often benefited both him and the homeowners was eye-opening. I helped structure some of these deals.
That people sometimes turned over their property for free carried profound lessons. It challenged my assumptions and opened my mind to the possible within the impossible.
You never know what might happen if you ask…
What Does Each Party Need?
I don’t view such asking as a manipulation where you’re able to pull the wool over on some unsuspecting dupe. Rather, circumstances are such that one party can provide what the other party needs – at a surprising cost, sometimes 0. From both ethical and practical points of view, these deals must work for everyone – even if the direct costs and rewards seem out of financial balance.
In my experience, when the obvious and the intangible factors line up just right, you never know what might happen if you ask…
