Blog: The Negotiation Edge

“Do the homework, and the test is easy.” Dr. Jeff Spencer

You need about 63-65 repetitions of use of a skill to build the neural pathway, so its use is comfortable, to put you on the path to mastery. But how? Where can you get your low stakes practice for your high stakes performance?

This is also the #1 way to deal with everyone who wants to suck up your time on the phone, from colleagues to cold-calling sales-people with “Have you got a few minutes to talk?”

When someone asks you “How much?”, what’s the worst thing you can do?

Answer with a price.

The traditional wisdom is “He (or she) who names a price first loses.” The academics will advise you the opposite! They say seize the initiative and set the price range with an anchor!

The secret to gaining the upper hand in negotiation is to give the other side the illusion of control.  If knowledge is power, what you really want to gain is knowledge in the interaction without really giving much information away. 

Here’s how to flip the control dynamic on it’s head and enjoy the process. 

The Accusations Audit. (And the crazy thing is women are killing it with this!) 

Across the board, our clients are hitting the biggest home-runs by leading with this strategy. From divorce negotiations, to astounding deals with insurance companies that even ambulance chasers wouldn’t take, to multi-million-dollar government contracts.

Even I had forgotten how effective this is.

The “late-night FM DJ” voice combined with “How am I supposed to accept that?”

I was just getting in some practice and was shocked when I got my way. I knew I had violated their “rules” and was technically asking for a refund after the deadline had expired.

Marcus Lemonis would have been a great hostage negotiator.

“I understand you guys have rights and remedies under the agreement to pursue whatever it is and I respect that. We will accept whatever the consequences are.”

What The Black Swan Group teaches is applicable to our daily lives, including family and friends this holiday season! Proactively tell people you care about what you’ve loved about them, even if it isn’t showing itself at the moment, and watch the great result.

Here’s a great story that recently shared with me. I realized it was a great example of the results from proactively nurturing “positives”.