Does Your Business Look Too Desperate?

Among the many pithy words of wisdom my father preached as we grew our 50 year-old family business, one of the most important was "never be desperate." Like the attractive person at the end of the bar, people can smell desperation like cheap cologne, and it doesn't make them want to dance.

Here are three examples of situations where letting your internal hunger turn into outward, extreme eagerness can cost you:

Desperate for a sale: If you are so consumed with making a sale and getting a new customer that you won't let anything get in your way, desperation might come back to bite you. It can lead you to give away more than you can or should, pull you into a bottomless pricing battle, cause you to make promises you can't keep ("just say we can do it, we'll figure it out later"), and generally cloud your thinking ("sure, we may be upside-down on this one, but we'll get it back"). No matter how young or small your company is, or how much you need business, you should always be clear-headed and prepared to walk away the moment you start thinking more about "winning" than whether or not it is actually good for you. The moment you start to act out of desperation is the moment you begin losing.

I have been in this situation many times. In fact, just last month we walked away from a potentially huge new business relationship because after weeks of back-and-forth, it became inexorably clear that there was no chance the deal would be profitable, short- or long-term. I was disappointed and maybe even a little nauseous about letting it go, but not for a moment regretful. No profit is no business, and the bigger the business, the worse that reality is.

Desperate for money: We all know some version of the old maxim that "banks only lend money to people who don't need it." And though your financial condition, business situation, your plan, and your books will be the empirical tools used in any lender's decision, your approach and attitude can have an impact. If you're manically wide-eyed, sweaty-palmed, and fast-talking about how much you need money, you're going to make the bankers suspicious and nervous, and suspicious/nervous bankers are even more unlikely to lend. Instead, speak calmly about why you're a good bet and show what you can do with the business if given proper backing.

All of the same holds true for any source of outside capital -- whether investment, partnership, or debt. Anyone considering financing you already knows you need money. But if you desperately stress the pure need, rather than the business case and rationale, you greatly diminish your chances of getting anyone to buy in.

Desperate for visibility: We all want great PR and word-of-mouth; they are often the best (or only) advertising a small business gets. But I've seen many small business owners try way too hard and have their efforts backfire. They bombard press contacts with inappropriate, excessive, or hyperbolic publicity plays -- and then pester those priceless media contacts with endless, aggressive follow-ups. Jumping up and down with your tongue hanging out is a surefire way to get absolutely no press for your company or products.

We're fortunate that Skooba has had fantastic relationships with major press contacts over the years, in part because of the considerate and professional way in which we pitch and follow up. But our media friends have told us lots of entertaining stories of companies that they've "blacklisted" due to desperate, overbearing PR plays. So play it cool, be respectful of people's time, and above all, follow good PR practices no matter how anxious you are, or how "deserving" you think you may be of coverage.

There are many other situations in which desperation can hurt you -- with employees, suppliers, those who might want to acquire your business, or those you might want to acquire. In all of these situations, you won't always get what you want. But you'll get a heck of a lot more than you will if you're frantically frothing.

Please chime in with your own advice -- I'm desperate to hear what you have to say.

Other articles that might be of interest:

• A Sales Tactic That's Guaranteed to Backfire
• When "Never Give Up" Is Bad Advice
• Are You Upselling or Just Upsetting Your Customers?