A common mistake is to go into a negotiation thinking that there is only one acceptable outcome: what you want. One of the best things you can do to prepare for a negotiation is to think about all the possible options that may exist for you and the other side.
My blogs on doing business with other cultures have generated many positive comments and it was suggested that I take a look at the Middle East. For starters, here is a look at doing business in Egypt.
Recently I wrote about “anchoring” which is the first offer made in a negotiation. Someone has to start the process and sometimes that means you. The first anchor is frequently called the “opening anchor”. Generally, it is price, but it can be quality, delivery date, or quantity.
Recently, I have written about the merits of viral marketing as a novel technique to get your message out to your target market.
Author Marti Barletta recently coined the phrase “Prime Time Women” to describe women over 50 years old, which she says “was an attempt to move away from the misleadingly negative connotations of phrases like “mature women” or worse, “middle-aged women.”
When negotiating, it is legend that he or she who speaks first loses (or wins less). While I agree that “silence is golden”, you will often be required to make an offer to get the negotiation started.
Procter and Gamble, manufacturer of Dawn Liquid Dishwashing Detergent, has scored a public relations home run with their recent advertising campaign that describes how the International Bird Rescue Research Center endorses the use of Dawn to clean up birds that get “oiled” by oil spills.
I recently read “Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide”, a book written by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever that explored the subject of women and negotiation. I was frankly shocked by the findings in this book.
The Japanese are world class negotiators and do business very differently than their American counterparts.
Turnover at the C-level is at an all time high, which is makes selling to this crowd harder and harder. It seems that just when you get to know them, or even get them to return your phone calls, they are history.