Behind The Dimpled Demon's Multicoated Lenses

Friday, February 02, 2007

Wannabe Entrepreneur Errors #2: Miscommunication

In any business transaction, communication is of utmost importance. Both sides must be clear as to what they are they are buying/selling the price and any other matters (discounts, additional commission etc..).

In my experience i have face some severe problems with miscommunication. I won't go into details, lest i get too technical... basically it involved a case of misplaced expectations.. i expected a higher pay... i tried to negotiate a higher pay... but my client claimed that he had promised differently.

Needless to say, i got the bitter end of his words and i lost a customer and a friend. Although i did manage to eke something out of it (he paid up what he promised), i realised that the opportunity cost lost here is far greater than whatever meagre fee i got out of it.

In the future, i will remember better to write down an agreement, and be clear about my words, rather than just rely on spoken promises and fancy rhetoric.

A clear agreement leads to clearer business practice.