Standing Your Ground: Negotiating and Play Production with April Crawley

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.