Ed Brodow is the world’s top spokesman on the art of negotiation. US Securities & Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt dubbed Ed “King of Negotiators.” He shares recently 10 tips for negotiating in the new year. Here is one of them:
- Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. Successful negotiators are assertive and challenge everything – they know that everything is negotiable. I call this negotiation consciousness. Negotiation consciousness is what makes the difference between negotiators and everybody else on the planet.
Being assertive means asking for what you want and refusing to take NO for an answer. Practice expressing your feelings without anxiety or anger. Let people know what you want in a non-threatening way. Practice ‘I’ statements. For example, instead of saying, “You shouldn’t do that,” try substituting, “I don’t feel comfortable when you do that.”
Note that there is a difference between being assertive and being aggressive. You are assertive when you take care of your own interests while maintaining respect for the interests of others. When you see to your own interests with a lack of regard for other people’s interests, you are aggressive. Being assertive is part of negotiation consciousness.
“Challenge” means not taking things at face value. It means thinking for yourself. You must be able to make up your own mind, as opposed to believing everything you are told. On a practical level, this means you have the right to question the asking price of that new car. It also means you have an obligation to question everything you read in the newspaper or hear on CNN. You cannot negotiate unless you are willing to challenge the validity of the opposing position.
Read the other 9 tips here…
Ed Brodow
Ed Brodow is the world’s top spokesman on the art of negotiation. US Securities & Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt dubbed Ed “King of Negotiators.” Forbes Magazine agreed, ranking Ed as one of America’s leading dealmakers. He is the bestselling author of six books including the business classic Negotiation Boot Camp: How to Resolve Conflict, Satisfy Customers, and Make Better Deals. Ed has enthralled more than 1000 audiences in Paris, Athens, Milan, Frankfurt, Bogota, Tokyo, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Toronto, and New York with his charismatic stage presence, infectious humor, and practical ideas on negotiation, sales and success. A nationally recognized television personality in the US, he has appeared as negotiation guru on PBS, ABC National News, Fox News, Inside Edition, and Fortune Business Report. He is negotiation consultant to some of the world’s most prominent organizations, notably Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, Learjet, Raytheon, Philips, Hyatt, The Gap, McKinsey, Revlon, Zurich Insurance, Exxon Mobil, and the US Defense Department.
Cambridge University Press in the UK paid tribute to Ed Brodow’s platform skills by selecting his signature “Meatball Sandwich” story as the paradigm for excellent story telling, acclaiming his talent for setting the scene, creating drama, involving the audience, establishing credibility, delivering the punchline, and linking to the theme of the presentation. A true “Renaissance Man,” Ed has been a corporate sales executive (IBM, Litton Industries), US Marine Corps officer, novelist, and Hollywood movie actor with starring roles opposite Jessica Lange, Ron Howard, and Christopher Reeve.
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