The Danger of the Escalation of Commitment
"We have to move forward with this decision,.....we've already spent the money!" The escalation of commitment (or the related sunk-cost fallacy) is when we behave completely irrationally and continue to pursue something that delivers increasingly negative outcomes (monetarily, psychologically, emotionally, etc.) instead of altering course. "Yeah, Mark, this doesn't happen to me. I'm totally rational and if I can see that it's producing negative results, I change my course of... Read more
The Danger of Confirmation Bias
"I knew I was right! That explains everything exactly as I has suspected!" Confirmation bias is the inclination to look for and remember selective information that confirms or supports our preexisting beliefs or ideas. Yes, this is a real thing. And yes, you do it. Sometimes we want so badly for something to be a certain way that we allow our emotions to cloud our judgement about that issue and... Read more
Pro to Know
Folks, forgive me a little time in the sunshine. On Friday, I was announced as a "Pro to Know" by Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine. This was massive news for both me and Negotiations Ninja. The business and the podcast has been growing rapidly and we've been heads down working hard creating content and delivering negotiation training programs for just over 1.5 years now. As an entrepreneur and content... Read more
The Awkward Sound of Silence
Silence may very well be one of the most powerful skills you can develop in negotiation. It may also be one of the most awkward skills to to learn. Ever tried to sit through silence after asking what is seemingly a very awkward question? It sucks! It's the most awful and strange feeling. It's almost as though you instantly become naked and feel immediately exposed to potential ridicule. It's really... Read more
Optimism Bias
It's funny that sometimes the things that makes some of us most successful can also be our greatest undoing. I just finished a fantastic book called, Entrepreneurial Negotiation. The authors Samuel (Mooly) Dinnar and Lawrence (Larry) Susskind interviewed a stack of entrepreneurs to determine how entrepreneurs negotiate and where they sometimes make mistakes. In their research they found that there are 8 mistakes that entrepreneurs regularly make with regards to negotiation.... Read more
7 Steps to a Successful Sales Meeting with Procurement
So what happens once secure your first sales meeting with procurement? As with public speaking, so it is with meeting with a procurement person, REMEMBER YOUR AUDIENCE! Understand and speak to their needs and wants!!! STEP 1: ASK GOOD QUESTIONS AND LISTEN In your first sales meeting with the procurement person, ask good questions and LISTEN. Ask questions about what challenges there are with existing suppliers and service providers. Find out... Read more
If You Don’t Read This, You’ll Lose A Lot of Money
"If I could show you how to 10x your negotiation results, how would that change your life?" That's what my one liner is (was) in my online marketing material to drive action like getting people to sign up for the newsletter or buy something. It basically says, "Do something and win." There's a problem with this. The problem with that one liner is it asks the prospect to think only of... Read more
Be Quiet
Be quiet. Shut up. Don't say another word. Let the other party speak. We so badly want to fill the awkward silence that exists in the space between receiving a message and responding to a message. Why? Because we don't want to feel alone, yes. Because we fear the potential of rejection, yes. Because we feel like something will be lost (the deal, the friendship, the relationship, etc), yes. All of... Read more
Negotiate the Process
So much can be said for preparation in negotiation, but even if you prepare, study, and have your questions ready, you can still hit a brick wall if you don't negotiate the process, understand and set expectations, and agree to next steps. It's quite dangerous to walk into a complex negotiation and begin shooting (even if you've prepared) without first discussing and agreeing to process on the things that will... Read more
Feedback Loops
How do you know how well you actually did in a negotiation? I mean, you have a result after the fact, but does that really tell you anything? Sure, you learn whether you got the result that you wanted. But getting the result doesn't tell you anything other that you got a result. Does it tell you what worked? Not really. Does it tell you what didn't work? Definitely not. Does it tell... Read more