It was a sunny afternoon in Denver, CO. My interim CEO and I just left the corporate headquarters of our 2nd-largest customer - and the entire book of business was lost.

Prior to our meeting with the customer's purchasing chief, I had conducted a comprehensive cost analysis for all SKUs for our top three customers - they all purchased very similar products with very similar cost structures. A strategic study showed that customer #2 was priced below their competitors, therefore yielding lower margins.

Interim CEO requested a meeting with the customer, with the intent of strong-arming them into improved pricing concessions.

The meeting ended with the customer giving notice that they intended to resource all the business, leaving our company with significant gaps in revenue, overhead absorption, and capacity utilization.

While driving back to the airport, I shared the news with our CFO. He asked my opinion - I told him that I had built a strong relationship with the second-in-command and I wanted to take another go at it. CFO asked "can you do it?"

I initiated the action. I got in the trenches with the purchasing second-in-command. We haggled, fought, traded, compromised - all the elements of a good negotiation. We came to an agreement and pitched our respective organizations.

In the end, we strategically exited negative margin SKUs, increased prices and gross margins for the retained business, and provided sizeable positive outcomes for our company. It was a net positive that propelled the company on an improved trajectory.