Last week a buyer added a ‘1 free dad joke per delivery’ line on the PO, so I opened the call with ‘we can do Net-30, not punchline-30,’ and it smoothed our Q4 renewal talk. Any vendor-side ways you’ve used humor to keep negotiations friendly and the relationship long-term without giving away margin?
And that ‘not punchline-30’ cracked me up. I bake one situational line into the agenda (a playful nod to their latest press release) and use it to pivot straight into Q4 ROI/renewal math, so the laugh warms things up without touching margin — , forced bits bomb unless you anchor price right after; do you ever drop a single “Complimentary Dad Joke SLA” in the proposal footer, or keep it live-only?
I add a tiny “humor line item” to the agenda — ‘1 corny opener, 0 price cuts’ — then pivot into a give/get (hold Q4 rates for a 24‑month term) so the laugh frames firm boundaries. Quick check with your champion first so legal isn’t spooked — @samir, have you tried putting it in the pre-read? It keeps things light without touching margin.