Negotiating Skills Will Get You Ahead

Negotiating skills can help you manage lots of different kinds of life situations, both at work and in your personal relationships. Here are a few examples of where these skills can help you build an even better life for yourself:1. Many family situations require negotiating with others. Deciding which movie to see, planning how to spend money, choosing a vacation spot, and many other decisions work best when you have these skills.2. Being a good negotiator enables you to get what you want more often without resorting to becoming aggressive or pushy. Negotiating with others is more effective than simply demanding what you want or just caving in.3. You will be more successful in the workplace if you know how to negotiate. These skills enable you to stand up for yourself and get what you want more often without harming relationships with bosses and coworkers.4. Negotiation skills increase your personal effectiveness in any group situation, such as volunteer groups, the PTO, and church... Read More

Writing an RFP (Request for Proposal)

A while back, a potential client provided me with some general details of the writing work he wanted me to do for his company. Then he asked me to send him a proposal. Proposal?! I panicked as I tried to confirm with him what he meant by that since I had never done one before, at least not as a freelancer. I must've not really wanted to pursue this opportunity since I didn't bother to do research or follow up with the company after submitting a contract instead of a proposal. A little time passed, I came across an article on writing RFPs (Request for Proposal). Ding! The light bulb went on. This guy verbally gave me his RFP and wanted a written response. When a company needs a project to be completed by a contractor or outside source, they write a RFP. This is a formal document describing the project, how the contract companies should respond, how the proposals... Read More

A One Stop Financial Solution

Amy Wright, 34, was extatic when her realtor showed her the three bedroom townhome overlooking the lushious golf course. It was exactly the home she was looking for. The interior was sunny and bright, with a newly remodeled kitchen, spacious bedrooms, and the perfect little study area to set up her new home office. It had a spectacular pool and a lovingly tended flower garden. Best of all-the seller had to move immediately, so the home was a steal and miraculously within her budget! Amy was already making moving preparations when suddenly, a devastating blow paralyzed her plans. Her credit application for a mortgage had been denied. She couldn't understand how this had happened-just a year ago, her credit had been almost perfect! The last year had been a little tight, and sure she had a few late payments here and there?but she had no idea it was so bad that now she couldn't even get the home of her dreams.Ms. Wright found... Read More

The Art of Negotiation in 535 words

I want to get better at negotiation, but where to start? UK Amazon currently has 2332 books on negotiation. Google indexed nearly 4 million relevant (yeah right) pages. All I need is a simple, straightforward model that I can put to use now. Phased by the glut of information, I went within and remembered the wise teachings from a senior manager in my early working life. So, come closer, listen up, because he was very wise indeed? He said "Do you know your LIMits?" "My what? said I cautiously, wondering if he was asking about my drinking capacity, driving speed or something equally off the wall. Being worldlier than I, he noticed my confusion and helped me out. "Lyndsay, if you want to be successful in life, you need to know your LIMits. Let me explain. What would you Like to have? What do you Intend to have? What Must you have? What are your LIMit's?" Slowly it dawned on me that... Read More

Power Pricing - Getting the Right Price for Your Products and Services

There's an old joke about the New York City blackout. Power was out everywhere, and the electric company couldn't figure out what was wrong or how to fix it. Finally, they decided that the only one who could solve the problem was a long-retired worker who knew the system inside and out. He came out to the power plant, looked around, picked up a hammer and tapped one of the generators.Suddenly, lights came on all through the area. Overwhelmed with relief that the problem was solved, they asked how much they owed him. "$20,000," he replied. $20,000? For tapping with a hammer? "Well," he said, "tapping with the hammer is $10. Knowing where to tap is worth $19,990."There are a couple of lessons to be learned from the joke. First of all, the value is higher when the problem still exists than after it has been solved. After all, if told he could restore the power for $20,000, officials would have written him... Read More

Games are a Reflection of Behavior

You are standing on a small stage yelling, "What's the name of the game?!""Win as much as you can!!!" comes roaring back."Who's responsible for your score?!""I am!!"The audience is composed of ninety men, all prisoners in a federal maximum security prison.One more thing ? you're a woman.For three years, Alicia volunteered every Thursday at FCI (Federal Correctional Institute) in Bastrop, Texas-"I used my skills as a corporate trainer to help these men learn to shift their perspective on themselves and the world.""Along the way the prisoners taught me as much, perhaps more, than I taught them.""In my training business, I use games as a way to break down barriers and shift perceptions. What I came to realize is that your behavior in a game is an exaggerated reflection of your behavior in real life."Games are an opening to behave true to our natures, to react immediately rather than with a careful response. Depending on the other players, we may monitor our behavior less... Read More

Managing the Sales Negotiation Process

How many times have you heard:"You've got to drop your price by 10% or we will have no choice but to go with your competition.""You will have to make an exception to your policy if you want our business.""I know that you have good quality and service, but so do your competitors. What we need to focus on here is your pricing.""I agree that those special services you keep bringing up would be nice, but we simply don't have the funds to purchase them. Could you include them at no additional cost?"Every time you hear statements like these, you're in the middle of a difficult sales negotiation. How you handle that negotiation will determine whether or not you close the sale and how profitable that sale will be. In order to give you a real edge every time, I have listed below some key points taken from my sales negotiation training seminar.Don't Believe Everything You See and HearPart of a good salesperson's skill... Read More

Cross Cultural Negotiations

Cross cultural negotiation is one of many specialized areas within the wider field of cross cultural communications. By taking cross cultural negotiation training, negotiators and sales personnel give themselves an advantage over competitors.There is an argument that proposes that culture is inconsequential to cross cultural negotiation. It maintains that as long as a proposal is financially attractive it will succeed. However, this is a na?ve way of approaching international business.Let us look at a brief example of how cross cultural negotiation training can benefit the international business person:There are two negotiators dealing with the same potential client in the Middle East. Both have identical proposals and packages. One ignores the importance of cross cultural negotiation training believing the proposal will speak for itself. The other undertakes some cross cultural training. He/she learns about the culture, values, beliefs, etiquette and approaches to business, meetings and negotiations. Nine times out of ten the latter will succeed over the rival.This is because 1) it is likely... Read More

Lets Make a Deal

Smart buyers will always ask for a better price. Unfortunately, too many sales people and business owners automatically think that reducing their price is the most effective way to respond to this request.However, negotiating is not always about price. Although price is a factor in virtually every sale it is not usually the primary or motivating factor. Everything you say and do from the first contact with a prospect affects the value of your product or service in their mind. That's why I believe it is important to look at the negotiating process differently in order to achieve better results.First of all, invest time gathering information about your prospective customer, his needs, situation, and buying motives. The more information you have the more prepared you will be to negotiate later in the sales process. Regardless of what you sell, and to whom, information will help you negotiate more effectively. Many of my clients tell me that their customers care only about price, but... Read More

Where to FIND the BEST Employees --

Obviously, you might logically say, "that is good!" You would most certainly be on track feeling good about everyone in your area having a job. Getting everyone working and being more self-sufficient is our logical goal.WHAT IS FULL EMPLOYMENT?For many years, the marketplace has considered 4% to be reaching a full-employment level. Very few employee choices are available. Many in the 4% (unemployed) group have little or no talent to offer. No basic valuable marketable skills. Most of these unemployed persons have a very poor work history. Not all, but a large majority have a limited education at best.OUTSOURCING and DOWNSIZINGNews continues to flow regarding outsourcing by major employers in almost every industry. Jobs are moved to an "outside" service for economic reasons. Many employers cut their workforce to meet PROFIT expectations for the quarter. Good decision? Not the issue when the level of profit is deteriorating and action is imperative.Big Banks along with the Utilities and other large employers are challenged to... Read More

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Resolve Conflict In 6 Easy Steps - The BEDROL Method

The principles of Negotiation can work for you in any situation, but often people ask me, "Well, its often a fact that conflict happens unexpectedly. What if I don't have time to prepare?... Read More

National and Cultural Negotiation Style

Cultural and national negotiation styles reflect communication behaviors and the priorities of that culture. Priorities such as trust, teamwork, non-confrontational situations, and openness are all along a sliding scale with each culture. The... Read More

Win-Win Power Negotiating

Let's talk about win-win negotiating. Instead of trying to dominate the other person and trick him into doing things he wouldn't normally do, I believe that you should work with the other person... Read More

Writing an RFP (Request for Proposal)

A while back, a potential client provided me with some general details of the writing work he wanted me to do for his company. Then he asked me to send him... Read More

Do You Want a Paycheck or a Passion? 10 Qualities Managers are Looking for in Hiring You

Based upon my research of over 300 managers in the last two years, I have found what qualities are most important to hiring managers.You will be in a more competitive advantage if you... Read More

7 Tips for Bartering Products and Services

What better way to gain a new customer than by getting something you need in return? The following are tips to help you use bartering correctly, and make it a good experience for... Read More

The Art of Negotiation in 535 words

I want to get better at negotiation, but where to start? UK Amazon currently has 2332 books on negotiation. Google indexed nearly 4 million relevant (yeah right) pages. All I need is a... Read More

Making the Deal: Women as Negotiators

Negotiating is no game. It is not for the weak or the fragile. It takes assertiveness and someone who feels comfortable in the mano-a-mano world of business. Can women negotiate the deal as... Read More

The Ultimate Truth in Persuasion

OK, so you want to improve your persuasion power right?Why? What's your intention?As you know your intent directs the flow of energy in your interactions with others. So doesn't it just make sense... Read More

Avoiding and Accomodating in Negotiation

The avoiding approach to negotiating is characterized by losing, leaving, and withdrawing. No commitments are made, and behavior is impersonal. Use this approach when you would get hurt by staying or when you... Read More

Can a Corporate Executive Really Use The Beautiful Mind; To guide decision making?

I would like to comment on the "A Beautiful Mind" movie and the book, which was actually much better. I just finished reading another book on the similar side of John Nashs' assertion... Read More

The Art of Haggling

Did you know that at one time in this country that there were no fixed prices on anything. You would go into a store and find an item you needed then you would... Read More

Dont Be Afraid Of Silence

In any conversation with two or more people, there is a tendency to want to talk all the time to fill any awkward silences or gaps that appear in a conversation.However, if you... Read More

Negotiate to Your Advantage

The hardest and most important part of any negotiation is knowing when to walk away.Few things are sweeter than a successful negotiation session where both parties leave the table with a winning solution.... Read More

Negotiating Skills Will Get You Ahead

Negotiating skills can help you manage lots of different kinds of life situations, both at work and in your personal relationships. Here are a few examples of where these skills can help you... Read More

30 Tips for Keeping Meeting Expenses to a Minimum

Money makes the world go 'round. And when it comes to meeting planning, money can probably get you whatever you want. However, few event planners have the luxury of an unlimited budget. Your... Read More

Power Pricing - Getting the Right Price for Your Products and Services

There's an old joke about the New York City blackout. Power was out everywhere, and the electric company couldn't figure out what was wrong or how to fix it. Finally, they decided that... Read More

Just Ask!

Ask and you shall receive & knock and it shall be opened &send an email and see what happens.As a student of personal finance you are probably familiar with the advice to negotiate... Read More

Managing the Sales Negotiation Process

How many times have you heard:"You've got to drop your price by 10% or we will have no choice but to go with your competition.""You will have to make an exception to your... Read More

Negotiations: The Art, Science, & Sport of Online Deals

Negotiations can seem as complex as physics, and in fact, people go to college to study the science of negotiating just as they would the laws of nature. At the same time, negotiation... Read More

Guidelines for Ambassador Appointments

Ambassadors to other countries are a vital part of international relations. It is not uncommon for an ambassador to be the face or image of one country to another. Ambassadors act as a... Read More

Negotiating Tactics: Don?t Let ?Good Guy ? Bad Guy? Control the Sales Negotiation

Counter one of the classic negotiating gambits by addressing it directly.You've assembled a brilliant sales proposal for a new client and when you arrive to the meeting to hammer out the final details,... Read More

Can a Service Be a Commodity

Well Enron dealt with this a little for instance an intangible such as the available bandwidth in fiber optic lines. So what is a commodity in a service business? Well, a commodity could... Read More

Negotiating: Forcing vs Compromising

Forcing is a hard-nosed approach that makes heavy demands from the outset. Emotions are displayed frequently, few concessions are made, and the bottom line may be concealed. This technique is used when the... Read More

Better Internal Proposals

A colleague of mine has a problem. We belong to the same association and he's been trying for quite some time, without success, to get support for one of his proposals.His lack of... Read More

Negotiating Tactics: How To Strike A Negotiable Opening Shot

There is no right or wrong to fire up your opening negotiation...There may be a lot of people who are uncertain about the right way to start off a fruitful negotiation with their... Read More

Cross Cultural Negotiations

Cross cultural negotiation is one of many specialized areas within the wider field of cross cultural communications. By taking cross cultural negotiation training, negotiators and sales personnel give themselves an advantage over competitors.There... Read More

While Youre Waiting

Not long ago, I made a partnership pitch, on behalf of an organization I represent, to another organization with similar interests. If the idea had come to fruition, it would have radically changed... Read More

Suppliers as Your Partners in Cost Reduction

This article is one of the many articles still to come in which I will discuss very basic yet proven techniques that you could use immediately in your encounters with your suppliers.Oh but... Read More