The events of this past week prompted me to write this piece and I hope it will push you to make some changes in your negotiation tactics.
My business has some adverts running on Google and I’m usually contacted by clients from far and wide.
This week, a shoe maker from Ikeja contacted and I told him the usual price which he said he doesn’t have but failed to prove to me he really
needs the service since he didn’t negotiate further as a result the job wasn’t done.
Likewise a lady from Lekki wanted a blog but her negotiation too was out of my range, hence project not done.
Here comes this young man from another African country who’s budget also doesn’t match our price but he was consistent in pleading for us to consider, he also would be going to the bank to deposit via MoneyGram.
That alone caught my emotions and resolve to do it for him at any amount he can afford. We’ve never met but he trusts a fellow African blindly and was ready to leave his ego in the garage.
This experience makes me imagine how many times I/We would have missed opportunities just because we refused to persist in asking for it.
If I can break my rules for someone because of persistence, how much more God to do same.
Remember Jacob’s story becoming Israel…the famous line “I won’t let you go until you bless me” , or Anna’s cry for Samuel.
Those two examples are evidences of how stories can change by persistence.
This begs a question…
Does God want us to be persistent?
Paul remarks in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 that he pled to the Lord for something three times. God refused Paul’s request. Interestingly, Paul ceased praying, not because he gave up or thought it inappropriate to ask God more than three times, but because he had received an answer. It just happened that the answer was no.
Some see repeatedly asking God for the same thing as a lack of faith or a sign that we do not trust that God heard our prayers. They assume that persistent prayer is presumptuous and rude. Others see not repeatedly asking for something as a lack of faith or a sign that we do not trust in God’s goodness.
What do you think?
Please leave a comment below !