Note for you new businesspeople: We’re wise to the “partner” ruse.
Trust me, when I give you my price and you say “Hey, that sounds great. Let me bring it to my partner, and I’ll get back to you”, I know I’ll never hear from you again.
Not that I’m complaining – I know you don’t want to say “I can’t afford you”, and you’d also rather not say to me “your price is too high”. I get it – you’re just trying to be nice. But I just thought I’d tell you that us experienced businesspeople are totally wise to the lie. We know there’s no partner. Most of us used this same line at one point as well. (edit: I realize some of you really have a partner and are right now thinking “but… but…”. Trust me, I don’t mean you 🙂
And trust me, you’ll stop using it the minute it gets used on you. In fact, it’s kind of a right of passage. Once the partner line gets used on you, it’s one sign that you are truly in business.