Entrepreneur Pavel Avraamov in his book "The Wisdom of Go" tells how he had to apply a similar tactic (referring to the Chinese stratagem "Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao") when problems arose in business. His company "Aquastella" was engaged in selling expensive Italian plumbing fixtures. One of the large companies supplied them with defective goods and refused to replace them. They called, wrote, sent photos of obvious defects, but the Italians replied: these are your problems, if you want, we can manufacture more, but at your expense.

What can a very small company oppose to a large company — a market leader? To save "Zhao" — "Aquastella", it was necessary to find the vulnerable spot of this company, the very heart of "Wei". And it was found. Avraamov decides to write a letter directly to the director. In short, it said the following:

"If you do not replace the clearly defective products, we will:
1. Order an expert examination of the defective products.
2. Exclude your company from our price list.
3. Send to our clients — 69 plumbing showrooms and partners — photos of the defect, the entire history, and a recommendation not to deal with you.
4. Send letters to the owners and heads of procurement departments of all Moscow design studios and architectural bureaus — 523 contacts.
5. At the largest Russian exhibition, our employees will inform all buyers about this incident.
The damage to your company will be much more significant than replacing defective products worth 4000 euros. I expect a response within three business days. If it does not follow, we will proceed with the indicated measures."

So, they found the company's vulnerable point — its image, and struck at it.
What about the Italians? They immediately contacted "Aquastella" and replaced the products by the end of the week.

I am writing an article about the most effective B2B negotiation strategies and delved into the book "Cunning as a Fox, Agile as a Tiger", dedicated to 36 popular Chinese stratagems with real-life examples.

Soon it will be more convenient to read me on Max.