Deal Making Skills...

The first thing you do is to change the way you look at the encounter with whomover you're trying to 'make a deal'. You, or they, have a problem or there'd be no reason to be discussing a deal. That being so, you have to take a MUTUAL problem-solving attitude to the entire process. THAT's the real secret to reaching a consensus and the agreement that results in a deal.

There's a lot more to it than that, of course, but you now have a starting point at least.

I wrote an article quite some time back about negotiating. In it I detailed how a typical negotiation proceeds, the pitfalls and tricks that one or the other party may try and the proper response that tells them whether you're a pro or an amateur out of your league. Pros gain respect, amateurs have already lost the deal in one way or another.

Hate to say this but, the majority of the time, American negotiators haven't a clue and don't even recognize when they hold trump...especially in high stakes negotiating. They're learning but it's been a long time coming.

It's one thing to know the ropes and another to have the ability to pull the right one at the right time so knowledge doesn't necessarily equal skill but it sure helps.

Sandi Bowman