The customer repaid us in one year.
\nThe project stayed with us for five.<\/p>\n
We won it by agreeing to something a much larger competitor could not accommodate.<\/p>\n
The customer needed an onsite team for knowledge transfer. Much of that cost would come at the beginning, and they wanted to spread the payments over twelve months.<\/p>\n
The larger provider wanted to bill that initial cost in the same quarter.<\/p>\n
That was the opening for us.<\/p>\n
But agreeing to wait was not a small concession.<\/p>\n
Our people still needed to be paid. We would have to fund the initial work ourselves while collecting the money over the following year.<\/p>\n
I made the call.<\/p>\n
The contract set out the repayment commitment. The customer agreed to cover our cost of capital.<\/p>\n
We did not lower the price.<\/p>\n
We changed when the customer had to pay it.<\/p>\n
That distinction mattered. We were taking on a funding responsibility, and the agreement recognised its cost.<\/p>\n
The customer paid as agreed. What began with a conversation about twelve months of payments became five years of work.<\/p>\n
Looking back, our advantage was not that we had more resources.<\/p>\n
It was that we could understand the customer\u2019s constraint, make a decision and take responsibility for it.<\/p>\n
That is one advantage small companies should protect as they grow.
\nNot the willingness to say yes to everything. That can put you out of business.<\/p>\n
The ability to recognise when a reasonable change in terms can make a good deal work for both sides.<\/p>\n
Before lowering your price, find out what is actually stopping the customer from buying.
\nFor us, it was the payment calendar.<\/p>\n
What commercial term have you changed that helped you win a customer?<\/p>\n
Krishna Lakamsani | Serial Entrepreneur | Investor | I write at the intersection of AI, capital, and the future of the human job market,\u2028sharing my life lessons, reflections, and honest takes from the founder-investor’s seat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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