Do you have experience with multiparty negotiations? Do you need experience? In this Throwback Thursday edition of negotiations Ninja, Mihai Isman shares how to tackle multiparty negotiations. Mihai is an expert in political, commercial, and multiparty negotiation. If you missed our conversation the first time—don’t miss it now!
The Dynamics that Make a Multiparty Negotiation Effective with Mihai Isman, Ep #199
If someone builds their own business, they’re likely an expert in their thing. They are brilliant at that one thing. But now—to get to the next level—they have to sell. How do they make the transition? In this episode of Negotiations Ninja, Marty Park shares what’s required to be great at sales as an entrepreneur.
Marty started his first software company at 21. Since then, he’s operated 13 different businesses in seven different industries. Eighteen years ago, he got started in the coaching space. Marty is actually my business coach. He helps entrepreneurs take their businesses to the next level. Don’t miss his expert insight!
Marty commonly sees that entrepreneurs know their product and service inside and out. Because of that, they automatically think they’ll be good at sales. They take their knowledge and confidence and presume that they don’t need a process or methodology. Because of that, they fumble. They don’t guide people through the process correctly. Then they can’t figure out why people won’t buy.
What’s one reason this might happen? Head trash. So much of the sale is done in your mind before you show up. You have to get out of your own way. You also have to understand how your beliefs are getting in the way of the sales process. Do you feel like sales are dirty? Do you hate the pressure it places on you? That can’t be helping you. You have to be aware of your head trash.
Are you comfortable with the steps you’ll walk someone through? Are you comfortable asking if they want to buy your product or service? If you can get that sorted out, you’ll be more successful. Much like rehearsing a golf putt, you have to rehearse the sales process in your head.
Marty believes that there are times you show up in different roles. For me, sometimes I’m the President and CEO, and other times I’m the expert trainer. Everything presented is from that perspective. The role people forget to adopt is that of a sales professional. It’s a new set of skills.
You have to appreciate that people need to trust you. You have to be a student of sales and understand what variables influence the buying decision. How do you walk them through the explanation without overwhelming them? You can’t just dive into the features and the benefits of the product. Someone may end up saying, “It seems like a good product, but we don’t know much about this company or this guy.”
Being an expert/owner has to become a supporting role to the sales position. There is no shortage of sales books that cover the best sales strategies and tactics. But Marty points out that the biggest thing to be aware of is embracing, “I have to become a sales professional.”
Some entrepreneurs are so passionate about what they do that you can’t help but think, “I want to work with you.” But they scale and add people to their team, and suddenly things fall apart. These people don’t always realize that they’re embodying the salesperson and the expert naturally. Not everyone is like that. So what do you do?
If someone is an exceptional salesperson, you have to break down what makes them exceptional and figure out what you can embrace. Some individuals may be great at closing. If they are, find out what that person does and duplicate it whenever possible. Videotape them, and use it for training purposes. Map the steps that they take, and make it more scientific. It helps you nail down the best practices within your own organization. That’s how you scale.
Listen to this special throwback of the Negotiations Ninja podcast for a deep look into the world of venture capitalists. Tim Schigel (the founding and managing partner of Refinery Ventures) shares what investors think about and how they choose what to invest in. Don’t miss it!
A lot of baggage exists in the word negotiation. Why does it conjure negativity, tension, and frustration? How do you overcome that? Jean Reyt—assistant professor of organizational behavior at McGill University—returns to share some great advice in this episode of Negotiations Ninja.
Jean points out that there is research on negotiation that proves that people feel dirty about negotiation. It’s the same with networking. Everyone agrees you need to do it—but nobody wants to. Everyone agrees that it’s preferable to negotiate a job offer, but no one wants to do it. People objectively know that these things are a desired behavior, yet it’s avoided. It shows how much people dislike negotiation.
Jean notes that it’s a silent affliction. No one says, “I’m a terrible negotiator; I fold right away.” He thinks that the behaviors associated with negotiation—such as compliance or avoidance—are easier to embrace because no one else sees them. If you avoid a negotiation, only you know, right? It’s easy not to do it. No one is going to ask what you negotiated for your salary because it’s taboo to discuss it!
Jean works a lot with language and how certain words make people behave a certain way. Jean believes that language is the most powerful tool you can use to motivate people. If you want to ask someone to do something, there is a combination of words that you can use to help you reach your goal. The word “negotiation” is problematic because it’s abstract; no one really knows what it means. Jean thinks people hear “negotiate” and immediately think about complex negotiations and difficult conversations. If that’s what negotiation is, why would you want to negotiate?
Jean works with young students who believe that they can simply do great work and they’ll be rewarded without asking for it. But he knows—and they soon learn—that they’ll never get what they don’t ask for. But those students—and most people, to be fair—find ways to justify their avoidance of negotiation.
Money is a finite resource that isn’t handed out readily. It’s given to the people who ask for it. Jean is the person that has to crush their hopes. He tells them the cold hard truth: that’s not how it works. If someone doesn’t give you money when you have leverage, why would they when you don’t?
I have to consistently remind people that you can’t expect anyone to give you anything in the business world unless you ask for it. People don’t just randomly go, “You know what, you do deserve another 20%.” It never happens. Your manager won’t think what you’re doing is exceptional—they just think it’s your job. They don’t think they owe you anything in return for doing your job well. If anything, they’ll think they got a great deal.
Asking for something or asserting a boundary is taboo. If you comply, the conversation can’t go south. People think the avoidance of negotiation is a risk-mitigation strategy—but it’s not. Jean’s students apply for a job and are told to sign a contract. If they say, “I want to negotiate,” they’re basically told they’re expendable. They can be replaced with the next person on the list. No one wants to be told that. Suddenly their self-worth takes a hit, and they feel they can’t walk away. But at the end of the day, you have to assert a boundary. If you say you want to get paid more, there’s a chance that a potential employer will walk away.
There’s a fear of rejection, ridicule, and a fear of being perceived differently. So how should you think about it? They contacted you for a reason. They’re talking to you for a reason. It’s because they want to do business with you. You should go into a negotiation with a range of acceptable outcomes regarding salary, price, terms, etc., that will help you decide where your walk-away point is. You have more power than you think you have. Don’t place your counterpart on a pedestal. Set a range of acceptable outcomes so when they make you an offer, you can say, “That doesn’t fit; I need more.” It helps.
It’s easy to see something from your own perspective. You may understand why you’re worth more than the salary you’re being offered but do they? Maybe you haven’t explained what you bring to the table properly. Of course, it’s scary, and you never know the outcome. But people are overly worried for the wrong reasons.
In this Negotiations Ninja throwback, we hop back to episode #207 with none other than Allan Tsang. Allan helps me bust some negotiation myths (including the fallacy of win-win negotiations). Don’t miss this fun episode!
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