This week, I had
the opportunity to interview my friend and fellow entrepreneur April Crawley to ask her a few
questions as it relates to negotiations.
April and her husband Sheridan run C
& D Entertainment in Warner Robbins, GA. They are responsible for putting
on the hit stage production A
Young Mother's Love. In October 2012, April and Sheridan will be holding
their annual auditions for the Middle
Georgia Idol Contest.
Mandisa
Johnson: What types of negotiations are
involved when producing a play?
April Crawley:
The types of negotiations that I deal with on a regular basis are where my play
venue will be. Not just the venue for the production, but will the venue also
include space to hold my rehearsals. Sometimes, the price of the venue is
negotiable. Let’s say I offer to pay one of my actor’s $200. They may want to
get paid more, because they have been acting for a while, and feel as though
they are worth more than $200.
Mandisa
Johnson: What is your strategy when
negotiating?
April Crawley:
Honestly, to maximize on my profit. But in the long run I must be able to keep
my actor’s happy.
Mandisa Johnson:
What would you say is your style of negotiation? Would you say that you are a
soft or a hard bargainer?
April Crawley: I
would have to say that I am a soft bargainer when it comes to negotiating. I am
a soft bargainer because I have been a performer for a while, and have a little
bit more empathy when it comes to actors wanting to get paid more. Sometimes, I
am able to take more into consideration from being an artist my self. On the
other hand, when I am faced with a tough negotiation, my husband is the hard
bargainer. He isn’t as empathetic, especially when it comes to giving my actors
more pay.
Mandisa Johnson:
What is the toughest negotiation that you have done?
April
Crawley: When we advertised for one of
my productions with a local radio station. The commercial started out at a
particular price. Our commercial kept getting pushed back, due to the 2008
elections. We paid for ten commercials and only two were aired. It was very tough, because we had to
re-negotiate and money had already been paid. It was basically the radio
station’s fault due to lack of managing their time.
Mandisa
Johnson: In that situation, how were you
able to separate the people from the problem?
April
Crawley: I didn’t. The problem was, the person who we did the
negotiation with for our radio commercial was a personal friend. They weren’t
as competent as they claimed they were. So in the long run, we weren’t as
confident in her and realized that you shouldn’t do business with people you
know because they could very well take advantage of you.
Mandisa
Johnson: Do you go into each negotiation
with a back up plan?
April
Crawley: No I don’t. And honestly. I
should. I don’t go into the negotiation with a back up plan, because I am quick
on my feet and kind of go with the flow. I am also able to read a situation.
Mandisa
Johnson: What was the toughest lesson to
learn when negotiating?
April Crawley:
The toughest lesson I learned was not showing my weaknesses. You have to be
stern when making negotiations. You also have to have a bottom line and stand
your ground. If you don’t you can get burned easily.
Mandisa
Johnson: Can you give me an example of
how you worked toward a mutual benefit when you were negotiating a deal?
April Crawley:
Well, in 2010 we did a trade off when we did our annual Middle Georgia Idol
contest. We wanted to hold our contest
at the Warner Robbins
Conference Center. This venue was a little pricey, and for holding our
event at this location, they also wanted publicity. We had been looking for
sponsors. So for a smaller fee, we advertised for the convention center on our
website, which helped them to get their name out. In return, we were able to
get a cheaper rate and the audition space for free.
