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How Anthony Sarandrea Finds Success Using a Blunt Negotiation Style, Ep #140 

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Do you have a blunt negotiation style? Or are you more diplomatic in your approach? While negotiation styles can vary greatly, Anthony Sarandrea is an advocate for cutting the crap and getting down to business. What does that look like? How does his blunt negotiation style move the negotiation forward? Listen to this episode of Negotiations Ninja to find out.

Anthony Sarandrea is an entrepreneur extraordinaire that helps entrepreneurs scale their business(es). He’s recognized as one of the top lead generators in the world focusing in the health, finance, and legal space. One of his businesses—SiteFlood—generates thousands of inbound leads a day. He’s been recognized as one of Forbes 30 Under 30. Don’t miss this solid conversation.

Outline of This Episode

  • [2:50] Why should entrepreneurs excel at negotiating?
  • [4:56] Knowing yourself must be your starting place
  • [8:55] Achieve goals by embracing a blunt negotiation style
  • [12:15] Why we need to have more blunt conversations
  • [14:28] Overcoming dominance plays in negotiation
  • [17:51] How to improve your negotiation techniques

Understand who’s on the other side of the table

Anthony points out that you must understand the deep emotional needs of the person on the other side of the table. You have to “unpeel the layers” and get to the root cause. He uses the example of a guy asking for a raise—it usually isn’t just because they want more money. Often the root is something emotional. Perhaps he’s dating someone new and his masculinity took a hit because his girlfriend made a rude comment about his job.

Perhaps a raise isn’t the answer in his scenario. Maybe a job title change or working through his personal issues is the route that could be taken instead. Anthony sums it up in this statement: “Whatever is on the surface—sometimes—is not actually the negotiation that really needs to be taking place.” But you have to embrace a blunt negotiation style and cut to the chase to get answers and move forward in the process.

Mastering negotiation begins with knowing yourself

Anthony points out that masculinity issues can be a common motivator among men—but it isn’t just masculinity, and it isn’t just men. Everyone has something that impacts them on a personal level which in turn impacts their behavior in their professional life. A lack of self-worth and self-understanding hinders your negotiations and the ability to succeed at your job.

It’s why Anthony is quick to invest in his team (and himself) by buying books about emotional intelligence, paying for Tony Robbins Seminars, or even paying for something outside-the-box like a pickup artist class. He consistently provides his team with the tools to overcome their personal struggles to be able to achieve their goals.

Why a blunt negotiation style works so well

Anthony admits that he isn’t an overly blunt person, but has learned to adapt that characteristic as part of his negotiation style. Sometimes he’ll walk into a negotiation and open with, “So, how does everyone here make money?” Which is often met with discomfort and shock. But he points out that his goal is to come in and understand how he can help them achieve what they want—which begins with cutting through the bulls$%t.

If you can get to the root issues quickly—learn about the person, their struggles, etc.—then you aren’t wasting their time or yours. Anthony is all for cutting the nonsense, being blunt, and getting straight to the point. You have to stop worrying about being offensive and just say it like it is. You don’t want to waste their time, you want to help them, and you want to move the negotiation along. Anthony believes his blunt negotiation style achieves that goal.

Flip the script in your conversation

How does Anthony deal with dominance plays in negotiation? By flipping the script. You may be the small fish dealing with a large organization, but he points out that you ALWAYS have some sort of leverage. You simply have to nail down your leverage point before starting the conversation. What value do you bring to the table? How is that value different than what someone else can provide?

Go into the negotiation assuming they’re dominant and that they know it. But you can stand up to their dominant negotiation style when you educate them on your leverage point. It completely deflates their balloon. They may have been prepared to point out that they have the upper hand, only to have you tell them it’s not really the upper hand.

Listen to the whole episode to learn more about Anthony’s blunt negotiation style, how to improve your negotiation skills, and why it’s so important for everyday life.

Resources & People Mentioned

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