By Christine Kloser, Founder, NEW Entrepreneurs

Many years ago, the term "win/win" was made popular in business books, boardrooms and sales presentations. The concept of both people in an agreement "winning" was, at the time, a forward-thinking way of doing business. However, in today's rapidly changing business environment, "win/win" simply isn't enough.

Enter the concept of "win/win/win." I like to call this the Triple Win! It addresses the key factor that is missing in the "win/win" model. This old model, while it worked extremely well in the past, only addresses the two parties entering an agreement: the buyer and the seller. The reason why the buyer and seller agree to do business is because they want to serve a higher level and that is what I'll call "them, the customer, the world."

Win/Win/Win - What's in it for me? What's in it for you? What's in it for the world?

The Triple Win formula brings into play the most critical element of the contract, the customer. The only way a business can flourish is to have loyal customers who trust the product or service they are buying.

It doesn't make any sense to leave "them" out of this model for success.

The strongest aspect of a relationship is not what's in it for me, or for you, but what is the contribution this new relationship makes to the world.

A few questions to ask yourself when entering a Triple Win agreement are:

1. Do I trust the integrity of the party I am entering an agreement with? If you do not trust them, do not do business with them. You will not be in a position to best serve your customers if you have an agreement with someone you cannot trust. They will sense it.

2. Do you believe in the value of each other's ideas, products and services? The most fulfilling and beneficial relationships are those where each party has mutual respect for the other. You should feel a sense of pride when you enter an agreement.

3. How is this relationship going to benefit your customers? After all, your customers keep your business alive. When you bring them with you (in thought and spirit) into all of your negotiations, you will be better able to make decisions that will ultimately serve them.

4. What impact can this relationship have on the world? When you expand your thinking to include this larger scale, you truly have an opportunity to make a significant impact on, at least, the world around you.

Implementing the "win/win/win" is one way to make a positive contribution to the cycle of business that we (and our customers) exist in today.

(c) 2004 Christine Kloser. Christine Kloser is the Author of "Inspiration To Realization" and the Founder of the Network for Empowering Women Entrepreneurs (www.NEWEntrepreneurs.com ). Her company empowers women entrepreneurs to experience business, personal, spiritual and financial fulfillment. Free newsletter at www.NEWnewsletter.com. Contact ck@newentrepreneurs.com. Click Here To Find Out About New Entrepreneurs (Network For Empowering Women)

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