Gap Selling: WHY a Problem-Centric Sales Strategy Works
Are you familiar with the concept of gap selling? At its very core, it’s a problem-centric sales approach. Instead of being pushy with a product, a salesperson focuses on learning the desired outcome an organization wants to achieve in the negotiation process. Keenan—author of the book Gap Selling: Getting the Customer to Yes—is the special guest on episode 139 of Negotiations Ninja. In the episode, he talks about gap selling... Read more
Negotiation for Lawyers: Become a Super-Negotiator
In episode 138 of the Negotiations Ninja podcast, Dr. Claudia Winkler joined me to talk about negotiation for lawyers. One of the topics we touched on was that many lawyers aren’t properly trained in negotiation tactics—and many completely dislike negotiations in general. Claudia believes it’s largely due to the lack of training. We conversed about why negotiations tend to fail. We also talk about how to manage your emotions so... Read more
How to Build Rapport through Virtual Negotiations
It’s far easier to build trust and rapport in person. You can shake someone’s hand and assess their body language. You can create a good first impression. Negotiators are struggling to build rapport when meeting people for the first time virtually. It’s hard to build that same trust and rapport that you would in person. But the Coronavirus pandemic changed the negotiation game. You have to adapt and learn how... Read more
Dispute Resolution in Negotiation: Why do Suppliers Repeatedly Overcharge?
Rich Ham—the CEO of Fine Tune—talks extensively about dispute resolution in episode 157 of the Negotiations Ninja podcast. Something he often comes across as a consultant is that suppliers owe his clients money. It’s often a substantial amount that hasn’t been managed over the course of the negotiated relationship. Rich often sees charges for inventory that isn’t really there, peripheral charges added on invoices that don’t relate to a specific... Read more
3 Negotiation Traits that Incorporate Cultural Intelligence
In a recent episode of Negotiations Ninja, Mark Davis shares the top three cultural intelligence traits you need to understand and master: dualism vs collectivism, universalism vs particularism, and linear and nonlinear thinkers. His training surrounds 10 different units of understanding surrounding cultural intelligence, but he believes obtaining a good grasp on these three is the best starting point. #1: Dualism Versus Collectivism The individualist is someone who emphasizes negotiation... Read more
Negotiation and the Realm of AI: The Future is Bright
In episode 155 of the Negotiations Ninja podcast, Martin Rand—the founder and CEO of Pactum AI—joined me to talk about the future of negotiation. More specifically, we touched on how he’s implementing AI to manage long-tail negotiations for large enterprises. But will AI expand? The evolution of AI in negotiation Will AI continue to evolve into something more complex? Will multi-variant negotiations with multiple stakeholders be possible? Martin points out... Read more
Conversation Skills: Why They’re SO Important in Negotiation
Conversation skills are becoming somewhat of a lost art. Yet conversation is the #1 basic skill any good negotiator or salesperson must master, according to Rene Zamora. Rene joined me on a recent episode of Negotiations Ninja to talk about sales management and communication. He points out that conversation skills can make or break a negotiation. You can’t be in a conversation with the person across the table and spend... Read more
Understanding the Emotional Brain: Why it Matters in Negotiation
The role of psychology in negotiation is quite fascinating. Understanding how the human brain works can lend you key insights into understanding the human psyche. Humans experience a variety of emotions—especially in the negotiation process—and acknowledging those emotions is one of the best ways to overcome them. Kwame Christian was featured on episode 135 of Negotiations Ninja and one of the topics covered in the episode was how our brains... Read more
Handling High-Stakes Negotiations in Times of Crisis
It’s safe to say that the Coronavirus pandemic is a time of crisis for most businesses. The stakes are high—in some cases, the very survival of businesses—and it’s important to handle these high-stakes negotiations in times of crisis the right way. On a recent episode of Negotiations Ninja, I was joined by negotiations experts Gary Noesner and Allan Tsang (with negotiator Shane Ray Martin kind enough to moderate) to answer... Read more
Overcoming Sales Objections Like a Pro
Overcoming sales objections is a harrowing task. Many salespeople brace themselves for a coming objection and when it inevitably comes they handle the objection poorly. So that begs the question: what’s the proper way to handle an objection? How do you use the objection to connect with your prospect? David Priemer joined me in an episode of Negotiations Ninja to talk about buyer intent and why people buy. Buying is... Read more