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Negotiating for Success 
January 2014 
In this issue...
Tutorial: Always be ready to trade
Put "If you..." before "then we..."
Jerry Langlois promoted to lead tutor
Blog: Democrats, Republicans, tear down that wall!
Hollywood negotiators
Meet our other
lead tutors

Sandy Sbarra
Rich Waldrop
Simon Letchford
Jill Campen
Gaetan Pellerin
See Jerry Langlois profile on right.

Associate tutors

Al Green

Ananda Laberge 

Ross LaGumina 

John Leehman 

Julie Shen   

 

Open courses Sandy Sbarra   
All courses are
Advancing Negotiation Skills (ANS) unless
Scotwork Strategic Negotiating (SSN) is indicated.

Parsippany
-Feb. 24-27
-March 24-27
-Apr. 28-May 1
-May 19-22
-June 2-4 (SSN)
-June 16-19

San Francisco 
-Feb. 10-13 
-May 5-8

Toronto 
Apr. 7-10

Houston 
Apr. 14-17

Montreal
Apr. 28-May 1

Raleigh
May 12-15

Chicago
June 9-12
  
 
Register here.



Inc. 5000
CEO's message: Rebuild key relationships                      
 

 

Another year under way--and another chance to nurture business relationships and improve the bottom line. Now's a good time, as the economy continues to heat up (a lot faster than the frigid weather in the Northeast!).

 

Reach out to customers or suppliers you may not have talked to in a while. Be curious about what's happening in their business and how you could help achieve their goals--which should inspire them to do the same for you.

 

For example, if you--as a buyer or vendor--are trying to move a product through supply chain without adding significant costs, explore potential solutions with your trading partner. Find common ground and determine which elements can be traded.

 

Have a great year, and call us if we can help. 

 

Marty Finkle

Marty Finkle,  
CEO & Lead Tutor 
Tutorial: Always be ready to trade          

 

Be prepared for unforeseen opportunities to get something of value, a lesson underscored by a story we heard from one of our clients.   

 

At a recent meeting, he gave his prospect a binder with extensive information about the firm's services. A few days later, the prospect called to say he had left the binder on a plane and asked that another one be mailed.

 

The business owner, a Scotwork NA alumnus, immediately seized the opportunity and replied: "Of course. If you agree to schedule a 30-minute call in the next two weeks so I can tell you more about our services, I'll overnight the binder right away."

 

Naturally, our client was delighted to get more time to explain his company's services, while the prospect was happy to get the binder and learn more about what our client could offer.   

Tutor answers tough question: "If you..." always comes before "then we..."
Question from small business owner

When making a proposal, why is it so important to put "If you..." before "then we..."? As an example, "If you agree to extend the contract by 6 months, then we will only raise fees by 5% instead of 10%."

 

Answer by Simon Letchford, lead tutor

Starting with "If you..." forces you to put conditions on the other side's demand, at the same time demonstrating that movements in your position will be traded, not given away.  

 

Psychologically, this lowers the other side's expectations of your further movements. And such expectation management is critical to successful negotiation.   

Jerry Langlois: promoted to lead tutor
Jerry Langlois
Email me.

 

Thanks to his excellent performance as a negotiation instructor, Jerry Langlois has been promoted to lead tutor.  

 

Now working out of Houston, Jerry joined Scotwork NA in 2008 as associate tutor and has since helped many clients achieve outstanding ROI and has played a key role in the company's expansion, especially in Texas and the Southwest.

 

"Jerry's positive and engaging style has enabled our clients to optimize performance, raise productivity and increase revenues," according to CEO Marty Finkle.   

 
Jerry's perspective  

"One of the points I stress when teaching negotiation is to get over the fear of sharing too much, because the more strategic information you share upfront, to structure expectations, the greater the chances of striking a deal that satisfies both sides."

Analysis: Democrats, Republicans, tear down that wall!                        

 

Attention Democrats and Republicans: You can't negotiate through walls. So instead of talking about what isn't negotiable, focus on what is negotiable.  

 

For example, if Democrats are concerned that too many federal programs will be cut, they should specify which portions of a selected a program could be scaled down. Then they could add a condition to that cut such as an agreement to fund a stimulus package.

 

Plus, each side should ask a fundamental negotiating question: "Under what circumstances would you be willing to..." Even if the answer is "Under no circumstances..." at least both sides know they should move on to another issue.  

Blog: Hollywood's negotiators                         
How well do characters on the big screen negotiate?

See amusing clips of negotiation in the movies, including George Clooney as a divorce attorney in Intolerable Cruelty, along with Stephen White's analyses.

Read blog post.

 
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