The Importance of Questions in the Forensic Interviewing and Interrogation Process
One of the things that makes Michael Reddington’s skin crawl is the phrase “buyers are liars.” He emphasizes that it’s not true, not any more than anyone else. Everyone has goals and will strategically share information that’s likely to help them achieve those goals. That’s not dishonesty; it’s interest protection. Prior to any interaction where you need information, you have to think about the reasons why your counterparty shouldn’t share... Read more
Assembling the Dream Team: A Team-Based Approach to Sales
Many people approach sales as if they are going to be working as a “lone wolf” the entire time. But David Perry prefers to assemble a dream team. What does that mean? David had just closed a large deal and felt really good about himself. But then he listed out everyone that had been involved in the deal. There were over 60 people involved! There are so many people involved... Read more
Why “Rationale” Questions are Key in the Negotiation Process
According to Deb Calvert, the purpose of a rationale question is to understand the decision that has been made and what has gotten you to the point you’re at in a negotiation. You need to know what the criteria will be for the ultimate decision. If you can get some of this information and insight beforehand, it’s helpful. These are definitely great questions in the midst of the negotiation as... Read more
Unpopular Opinion: Bad Data is Worse than No Data
Susan Walsh firmly believes that you have to know how much you’re spending, what it’s being spent on, and the competitors you’re spending it with. But how many companies know what they’re spending their money on? Most of the clients that approach Susan don’t have classified data. Of those that do, it’s worse than not having data all. Why? Because dirty data is immensely misleading. Susan emphasizes that “You can... Read more
Jacqueline Twillie’s LATTE Negotiation Framework
How do we help women negotiate with confidence and close the gap? Jacqueline Twillie developed the LATTE Negotiation Framework to help women bridge the gap. She was preparing for a negotiation talk and wanted an acronym. She needed a simple way to break down negotiation that would ease nerves and open people’s minds to hear what she wanted to deliver. It’s a five-party acronym that’s a checklist. A pilot has... Read more
The Post-Settlement Settlement
Is there a way to optimize an agreement that’s already been made? Is there still time to make it better? What is the post-settlement settlement? Many people don’t see negotiation as a creative problem-solving process. They see it as haggling or bargaining. However, the point isn’t just to reach an agreement—but to reach an agreement that meets your needs as best as possible. Dr. Weiss was completing negotiation training with... Read more
Adapting to New Negotiation Technology
Keld Jensen is seeing more and more companies close to coming up with a negotiation tool based on AI. Technology speeding up will be another outcome of coronavirus. It’s coming quicker than ever before. Tedious and boring parts of negotiation will and are being automated. Those that buy millions of something multiple times a year could be offloading that task to software that can do it better. Pactum AI Pactum... Read more
Want to Stand Out As a Salesperson? Here’s How
If you want to differentiate yourself from the competition as a salesperson, what do you do? How do you make your product or service stand out? How do you stand out as a salesperson? Tom Williams argues that you need to start by understanding where you fit in the process. How is your procurement counterpart looking at the sale? Take a look at the Kraljic matrix. The Kraljic matrix The... Read more
The Roles of Happiness vs. Pleasure in a Negotiation
People, ultimately, want to be happy, i.e., experience the feeling of well-being. But happiness is relative. It’s based on what people value. What makes them happy might be meaningless to you. As human beings, we have a limited amount of time, money, energy, and resources. Because of this, we must constantly make choices, often unconsciously. Every decision someone makes is based on whether they believe it will bring them closer to happiness... Read more
Concession + Compromise: Do They Have Any Place in Negotiation?
Compromise is touted as a tactic that is a normal part of the negotiation process. It’s a “negotiation-saver.” When you reach an impasse, it’s as simple as a compromise, and the deal is done. But it couldn’t be further from the truth. Allan Tsang shares his thoughts on the topic in an episode of Negotiations Ninja. Myth: Any deal is better than no deal Let’s say you want to sell a widget... Read more