Know When To Walk Away

Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

Every deal has a point at which it doesn’t make sense anymore. The point at which the ‘ask’ is just too much.

In a sales deal, it could be when the price is too low, or when the accompanying demands (product add-ons, service level demands, ongoing performance expectations, etc.) aren’t worth the cost.

Of course, this isn’t only the case with sales deals - it happens in all aspects of our lives. It could be that job we desperately want for its ‘career value’ or that equity stake we’re negotiating for that exciting, new venture. On a more personal level, it could be that relationship we’ve been pursuing or that friendship we’ve been developing.

(Yes, I recognize that everything in life isn’t a deal, but everything in life does involve give and take, whether that give and take is tangible and economic or intangible and emotional.)

There comes a point when the demands are too much, they’re just not worth it.

If we’re thinking rationally, we can recognize this fairly easily. We can objectively weigh the positives against the negatives and decide what to do. But, in reality, two things tend to happen. 

First, the asks tend to build up, a bit more here or a bit more there. We give a little, then a little bit more, without noticing or rationalizing that we can afford to give that bit more. 

And then, when we’re in the midst of the battle, so to speak, we just want to get the deal done, because the end goal, the ‘finish line’ is right there.

And that’s where the problems happen, because we accept what we perhaps shouldn’t.

There’s certainly no easy answer here. Separating the emotion from such situations is  challenging. But we need to try.

In commercial situations, it helps to determine your priorities, what you’re willing to accept, what you’re willing to offer, ahead of time. Define it, hold steady to it, and then, as objectively as possible, live by it.

In personal situations, it’s much harder. Emotions have a way of turning our heads. I think the best we can do here is to understand who we are, think hard about what we value and think through the (emotional) sacrifices we’re willing to make.  We need to have and maintain a sense of what we’re worth and then use that as our guide, as best we can.

And then, in the end, when the facts and our instincts and our emotions tell us, we need to be willing to walk away.