The Holy Sales Trinity
According to Sales Guru Carson Heady, the “Holy Sales Trinity” consists of your company, your customer, and you. You have to understand what is a win for each of these people and prioritize them. You have to understand their priorities, key timelines, perspectives, budget, milestones, etc. As you work through a deal, you have to tie everything to the spirit of the partnership. Your responsibility is to understand the process... Read more
Why Flexibility is Important in Negotiation
Flexibility means being aware of everything that is happening and adjusting to the situation. Svitlana Kaltisun believes that the more flexible you are, the better the outcome of your negotiations, whether it’s negotiation over a job, communication with a client, or ending a war. Svitlana used to wonder how people could change their minds so easily, sometimes overnight. She admits in the past that she was immovable in her opinions... Read more
Building Trust in Your Organization
Debra Roberts is a self-proclaimed conversation expert, and rightfully so. She developed the “Relationship Protocol Communication Model,” a way of communicating with your employees or loved ones (and everyone in between). She also has a clinical background as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) and is both a trauma and business consultant. Everyone knows that to build a thriving organization, you need a foundation of communication and trust. But building... Read more
Collaboration is Key with Scope of Work Clauses
A problem—that I see often—is that after contract execution, companies realize that they aren’t getting the full value of what they thought they were going to get. How do you prevent that from happening? Do you write the scope of work clause broadly, so it can flex? Jeanette Nyden points out that the Covid lockdown impacted the US ports. 4-6 months after the recording of this episode, the supply chain... Read more
The Basics of Negotiating with Investors
Zack Storms founded a non-profit called Startup TNT, a community that works not only to educate potential investors but to bridge the gap between investors and founders looking for funding. TNT has created a safe space for founders to negotiate and navigate the challenging system without fear they’ll do something wrong. It’s about building a supportive community where you can learn and grow. The process can be overwhelming when founders... Read more
How to Win Arguments (On Substance OR Procedure)
Most negotiators understand the basic premise that a contract is a decision that you've agreed to, usually in written form. But what happens when a question comes up? Two parties often want that question answered differently. You both refer to the agreement that you made. You know you’re bound by that agreement. The question, then, is how you interpret those words and understand what you agreed on. In episode #311... Read more
Using Second-Level Assessment Questions to Navigate Differing Perceptions of Value
During an interaction with a prospective customer, do you find ways to give them value? 80% of buyers say they don’t get anything of value from salespeople. The problem is that salespeople think they’re offering value. But there’s a gap between what they perceive as valuable and what the customer perceives as valuable. It’s a major problem. If your buyers don’t perceive the value, it doesn’t matter. What can you do? Ask... Read more
Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers
Joanna Shea has almost 20 years of experience in the corporate world working on major acquisitions and divestments. Three years ago, she branched out and joined the Negotiations Collective. The Negotiations Collective blends the corporate world and behavioral psychology. Among many other specialties, the Negotiations Collective offers training on navigating conflict within negotiations. Joanna and her team members (Calvin Chrustie, Scott Tillema, and Melissa Fortunato) bring a breadth of experience... Read more
Learn From Your Failures to Improve Your Negotiations
Sometimes when you attempt to take a collaborative approach to negotiation, the deal falls through. Failure is painful. You’re admitting that you screwed something up somewhere. Failure is critical to learning, but no one wants to talk about it. Simon Rycraft believes that ego is the #1 reason no one wants to talk about failure. People don’t want to openly share and acknowledge their weaknesses. But doing so can build... Read more
Can The Russo-Ukrainian War be Solved Through Negotiation?
Mark Lowther believes that The Russo-Ukrainian War could be resolved—but not while Putin is in power. Why? He sees Putin as the stumbling block. And from the Ukranian point of view, why would they need to negotiate back their country? Why should they give away any of their country? It seems ridiculous to them. But negotiating and coming to a conclusion might save hundreds of thousands of lives. Can they prevent further... Read more