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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Investing Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

How Does This End?

“Always assess whether you should attempt to influence outcomes. It may be more beneficial not to.” –Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

You should always attempt to accurately assess a situation before attempting to influence it. That assessment will leave clues to how it might end. And, if you don’t like the possible ending, you may be better off not doing anything at all.

The Story:

The leader of team one was engaged in a negotiation against two other teams – they were negotiating the extension of a contract worth $10,000,000. To subvert the efforts of team three, the leader of team one offered a silent payment of $20,000 to the leader of team two if he could get team three to withdraw from the negotiation. After the teams haggled for several weeks, team one won the contract.

With glee in his heart and dollar signs in his eyes, the leader from team one gladly remitted the $20,000 bounty to his team two confederate. When team one’s leader asked the leader of team two how he convinced team three to drop out, he said, “it was easy. There was a clause in the current contract that stated the three teams had to negotiate in good faith for the extension renewal. The fact is, neither team two or three wanted the extended contract.” With that, the guy from team one said, you mean I could have saved my $20,000? The team-two leader said with a smile on his face, “that’s right!”

Survey:

If you knew something would end badly before engaging in it, would you go through with it? When a few hundred people answered that question, some of the answers were surprising. Some of them said they’d embrace the situation because it would prepare them for other activities – thus, they would learn from the bad situation, which would allow them to be better prepared to address a greater situation in the future. One would think that thought process goes against conventional wisdom. But it may not, depending on who you’re dealing with.

Assumptions:

How can you predict how someone will act if you don’t know their source of motivation? It’s a difficult assessment to make. You can’t even assess an accurate probability of how they might act.

When dealing with people, you should always attempt to predict how they might respond based on their interest. Don’t assume they’ll act in a prescribed manner unless you’ve received direct input from them or another reliable source. Even if it comes directly from them, you still must verify what they say through another source. To do less is to set yourself up for possible foolery. Adopt the perspective that people may not act in their best interest if you don’t know what their best interest is.

What does this have to do with negotiations?

Don’t assume you know how people will act or react. When negotiating, understand what the other negotiator wants, why he wants it, and the reasoning behind his desires. To do that, solicit his honest input – tell him, the only way you can give him what he wants is to know exactly what that is.

It’s of equal importance to know what the other negotiator doesn’t want. This, combined with what he wants, will give you a more complete picture of what may drive his actions. With that insight, you’ll have a better idea of how the other negotiator wants the negotiation to end. Then, all you need to do is assist him in walking down that path. At the end of it, there will be a winning combination that’ll make him embrace the outcome of the negotiation. The point is, you will have known the answer ahead of time as to how does this end … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#end #Negotiate #Process #Power #Powerful #Emotion #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions

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Best Practices Leadership Marketing Personal Development

Writing: It is Not Just for Writers

“I’m not a writer. Why should I have to learn about grammar, spelling, and punctuation? No one expects me to be good at that.”

I’m not talking about great writing skills but about basic competence. Too many people don’t have this.

What if Getting a Job Depended on Your Writing Skills?

Bizzy Coy, in the article, “Why You Can’t Get a Job Without Solid Writing Skills,”  on MediaBistro, writes that 75% of businesses want employees skilled in writing. However, nearly 50% of applicants don’t have those skills.

He lists six areas where good writing skills are essential: video, audio, social media, B2C copywriting, sponsored content, and B2B copywriting.

If you don’t have these skills, you’ve reduced your chances of getting a job. If you do, your employment future looks a lot brighter.

Solopreneurs and Owners of Small Businesses Need These Skills, Too

 You might say, “I have an administrative assistant who takes care of all that.” All of it? Every email you write? Every text or IM?

You say, “No one expects them to be perfect.”

You will find, however, that people do expect them to be readable. All too often, they aren’t.

I am currently collecting the world’s worst emails. If you have a contribution, I’d love to see it. Many of the worst ones, though, are private communications that only the person with whom you’re trying to establish a cooperative agreement or to whom you’re trying to sell a product sees.

For example, you’re trying to win a new client, and a lot of communication takes place via email. Does it matter if you make grammatical and spelling errors?

William Arruda, in the Personal Branding Blog, writes:

“Poor grammar is one of the reasons why customers avoid certain companies. When users visit your website and read poorly constructed sentences, the initial impression is the site and the company behind it are not trustworthy. This is why it is always important that you check and proofread your work before posting or sending messages.

A simple spelling mistake can lose you a customer and that would be your competitor’s gain. Using proper grammar denotes a professional approach to business. By constructing a well-written letter or response to a query, you are giving your customers and suppliers the impression that as business professionals, you are treating all your transactions seriously and you value them highly.”

What he says applies as much to a CEO as it does to a solo-preneur. You wouldn’t show up for a business meeting in an unironed, dusty, shabby suit. What you write should have the same degree of grooming as your personal appearance.

It’s worth taking the time or, if necessary, spending the money to learn the basic rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It’s money in the bank.

Just one new customer could make the effort worth it.

Reach Pat Iyer, one of C Suite’s original 100 advisors, through her website at patiyer.com

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Best Practices Economics Entrepreneurship Industries Leadership Marketing Personal Development Sales Technology

Marketers Must Learn to Anticipate Content Trends

Do you remember when MTV was the best way to get in front of the teen and young adult audience? Once mobile technology became popular, it didn’t take long for that age group to be on the move.

In no time, videos were streaming on iTunes. Though teens continued to watch, viewership dropped. Then came instant messaging, followed by social media. For a time, Facebook gave advertisers their niche audience of young consumers congregated in one place.

That is until Snapchat and Instagram came along.

To add to the challenges of the last couple of decades, smart speakers are now in about one-quarter of U.S. homes, and podcasts are gaining popularity. In fact, about 50 percent of households now say they listen to podcasts, with a majority of them joining the trend in just the last three years.

According to whypodcasts.org, 38 percent of listeners are age 18-34, and 64 percent listen on their smartphones.

What’s Next in Target Marketing?

As technology-driven change changes direction, it is easier, and far more profitable, to change direction with it. “It’s easier to ride a horse in the direction it is going.” That’s what my grandfather told me as a little boy working with him on his farm in Texas.

Every company, regardless of size, knows they must advertise if they are to grow. Yet with all the money that is being spent, it is increasingly difficult to get your message to the right audience.

This is where it pays to be anticipatory. Using the systemic method outlined in my Anticipatory Organization Model, you can ready your organization for the disruptive transformations ahead.

Three Hard Trends and Two Tech Trends to Watch

In my work as a technology and business futurist, I have found the most effective way to approach becoming an AO is to focus on demographics, government regulations, and technology. In addition, it is always good to know which consumer technology trends will stick around. I call these Hard Trends (as opposed to Soft Trends, which may come and go).

  • Demographics drive opportunity. There are nearly 80 billion baby boomers in the United States. Not a single one is getting any younger—a definite Hard Trend.
  • Government regulation is a constant. As a general rule, will there be more or less government regulation in the future? Of course, there will be more, and that’s true regardless of the industry or organization. That’s also a Hard Trend.
  • Technology will continue to grow. From the ever-increasing functional capabilities of our smartphones to the growing use of 3D printing, technology is inevitably going to become more functional, more sophisticated, and more widespread. That’s another definite Hard Trend.
  • Multi-layered media is here to stay. According to research, our attention spans are shorter than ever, and consumers demand instant gratification and quick fixes—not a litany of product features and benefits.

Today, content channels such as social media, Apple Watch, and Google Home provide the perfect vehicles for interactivity at any time, in any place, and with any person.

  • Consumer attention is likely to stay at a premium. At least for the foreseeable future, multi-layered media is here to stay. Consumer attention remains at a premium.

Advertisers know the harsh reality: Running an ad on a major television network and supplementing it with web banner ads is no longer a guarantee of reaching the audience.

If you use my Hard Trends Methodology to look ahead to the future of marketing, you’ll be able to anticipate the fast-moving innovations to come. New devices are likely to be developed, and their connectivity doesn’t show signs of slowing any time soon.

Learn to be anticipatory—start with my book, the Anticipatory Organization, available on Amazon.com.

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

What Are You Waiting For?

“To achieve more, you must know what more is and why you’re waiting to acquire it.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

“I want to be fit and in shape. But I don’t put forth the effort to exercise. Thus, I’m not in shape. I have low-energy. And my physical appearance could be better. Still, I want the results of looking good, feeling good, and being fit. I don’t know what I’m waiting for before committing the actions required to achieve those goals!” Those were the words spoken by an associate as he lamented his plight. Have you pondered such thoughts about the goals you’ve sought to achieve? Have you thought about the consequences that lie in wait tomorrow, as the result of not beginning the quest of your goals, today?

Do you know what you’re waiting for before moving in a more positive direction? It’s a question that everyone needs to evaluate when assessing why they’re not in a better place – at a better point in life. When you engage in activities that don’t support the goals you wish to achieve, you should ask yourself, what am I waiting for? When you find yourself veering off-track of a successful endeavor, take note of where you’re headed. And if you don’t like the distant destination that you’re headed towards, ask yourself, what am I waiting for before getting back on track.

To be more successful in life, you must be self-reliant. That means as the cliché states, you must adopt a mindset that states, “if it is to be, it’s up to me.”

Everyone becomes encumbered by life’s activities at times. And yet, everyone always spends their time doing what’s most important to them. I’ve issued that summons to individuals over time. Some have stated that they only participate in activities that advance their goals. When questioned about their engagements in activities that don’t progress their goals, they sheepishly admit that it does occur sometimes.

The point is, everything you engage in is the priority that you’ve chosen to invest your time. Because, you’re stating by the fact that you’re engaged in that activity that it’s the most important thing to you at that time – to thine self be true.

Recognize what you do as being what’s most important to you when you’re doing it. Don’t sugarcoat it! You’re only playing with your mind if you don’t acknowledge that fact. There’s no right or wrong or need to assess blame. Just realize what reality is. You can’t address a situation, good or bad unless you recognize it for what it is. Once you examine your actions in the light of reality, you’ll be in a better mental space to take corrective actions. But you’ll only do that if you really want to achieve that ‘thing’ that you say is so important to you. Once you start on the path of achievement and stick to it, you’ll feel better about yourself and the achievement of your goals … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations?

In every negotiation, timing plays a key role in when you should extend your offers and when you might obtain what you seek. Thus, you must become keenly attuned to your timing. If you hesitate in making a request, a demand, a concession (yes, they are different), you should question yourself as to what you’re waiting for. If you wait too long, you’ll miss your opportunity to acquire more. If you pursue too soon, you could meet the same fate or worse, lose what you’ve acquired.

It’s stated that timing is everything. That’s especially true when negotiating. Thus, always be mindful of how you utilize your time. And note the waiting period that you engage in as to why you wait sometimes.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

 Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

 To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#waiting #Negotiate #Process #Power #Powerful #Emotion #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions

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Best Practices Investing Management Marketing Negotiations Sales

Does Your Sales Approach Blow Off Profits?

Many experts agree that selling with perspective/insight improves selling performance, but most ignore the role played by business acumen.  Business expertise is foundational to perspective selling success. Ignoring it is a mistake; best case, you can win some more opportunities, but at suboptimal margins.  Worst case: your insight selling investment won’t get you anywhere.

Perspective selling can be a huge difference maker. CSO Insights found that companies who incorporated perspective into their approach had 12% higher win rates.  This rose to 23% higher win rates for companies who master perspective. The data was conspicuously silent on profit margins of those won deals. Thus, selling with perspective can be powerful, but your mileage can vary widely, depending on how you implement.

Unfortunately, some sales training companies cover business expertise with little more than a vague hand wave. Their treatment: “Take your business acumen…you know, that business acumen that you have (right?)…and use it to provide some valued perspective”.  Apparently, hope is a strategy.

Others tell us to apply our business acumen to expose an unrecognized problem, unrecognized solution, unforeseen opportunity, or to bring a third party’s capability to bear.  Those are great suggestions for how to use already-established business acumen.

Business Acumen is a Serious Discipline, not Some Buzz Word.

I’ve heard business acumen (for sellers) described as “understanding how your customers make money”.  That’s a great start.  Adding “to the point you know how your offer can help them make even more” should become the standard for every customer-facing person in your organization.

SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is better than nothing but doesn’t help a seller develop very meaningful insights.  It doesn’t help your people meet the standard above.
“Understanding growth drivers” sounds helpful, but don’t you need business acumen to for that level of understanding?

Sellers need a set of tools which help them understand how business works well enough to look at a prospect company with a “mechanic’s eye”:  ability to diagnose what’s working well, what’s not, and how their offer can help.  My business acumen framework covers a business in enough depth to help sellers do just that.  Here’s a diagram of the major parts of a customer’s world: What elements of their environment shape a business, internal elements that shape their world view.  On the right, is a list of some of the major outcomes you might be able to help them change.

Customer's World Business Acumen copy

Because this framework is about your customer’s world, it works with any sales training system or methodology. Contact me if you’d like to learn more about this overview.

Business Acumen Shapes an Entire Pursuit, it isn’t Just a Process Step

I’ve seen leveraging business insights to “provide perspective” and “provide insight” as one step in the selling process.  I reject this; such a suggestion shows a fundamental misunderstanding of business perspective.

Business acumen helps a seller throughout the arc of the customer experience:

  • Secure an initial appointment by showing that the seller has valuable business advice to give.
  • Shape discovery by uncovering new value and expanding known ones.
  • Expand the decision ecosystem by connecting unanticipated outcomes with your offer.
  • Expand the total value of your offer by adding outcomes all over the company.
  • Earn executive meetings by connecting to executive-level concerns.
  • Negotiate win-win pricing by walking your customer through the monetary value of all of the outcomes you help them achieve.
  • Explore even more outcomes as all of your people engage with a customer post-sale.
  • Capturing all of these value insights helps your marketing team produce content that targets the customer outcomes that win most of your deals, generating leads that self-qualify for your differentiation.

That’s why I promote a company-wide “value culture”.  In a value-focused culture, a lot of roles participate and several loops get closed.

How Business Acumen Fits into a World Class Sales Culture

Business acumen is a backdrop to a phased process, each phase of which blends into the next. Thus, Business acumen is foundational to professional selling.

Perspective selling 3 circles2

Initially, a seller should uncover needs, value gaps, and potential customer outcomes.  I have a tool called value networks which helps guide this process more efficiently (these are company-specific).  In this phase, sellers need to envision all of the parts of a customer organization the selling company’s offer might impact. As customers have become more siloed, this job has become more challenging.  My value networks help make this easier, and work with any sales training system or methodology.

During this process, a seller should be able to develop value (build the desirability of various outcomes) in the mind of various buying personas.  The diagram in this middle circle reminds sellers that they need to develop value while they can.  Once a prospect has decided you’re on the shortlist, it gets increasingly difficult to “sell value”.

Ability to sell value vs discounting

To begin the closing process, a seller needs to connect their solution to customer-validated outcomes, recap the value of those outcomes, and then position the solution based on that value. Pricing – even premium pricing– should reflect the value of those outcomes and share a win-win philosophy.  I have often experienced higher customer preference at premium prices once the customer-validated value is used alongside the price for context. 

Venn Diagram

Selling with Perspective is Good.  Selling with Value Perspective is Profitable.

Perspective selling is powerful.  It increases close rates and strengthens customer relationships.  With a few simple additions, it can do all of those things more effectively…and more profitably.  That is, you can close more deals at a higher – and more customer-appreciated – price. Since pricing power is profit power, those small adjustments make a huge difference.

Comment below.  If you found this valuable, like this article and/or share with your network.  If you’d like to learn more, please contact me.

To your success!

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

How to Be a Better Negotiator: Control Your Risky Positioning

“Taking risks can be risky if you don’t control the risks you take.” – Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

Positioning in a #negotiation impacts a #negotiator’s ability to #negotiate before the negotiation begins. Because the way you position yourself determines how the other negotiator will perceive you. And it’ll regulate your interactions. Thus, to be a better negotiator, you must #control any risky #positioning that might impact a negotiation.

Everyone considers what they might encounter before they engage in an activity – that’s especially true in negotiations. And it’s better you shape their perception before they do. Doing so delivers the image you wish them to have of you compared to the haphazard perspective they might create.

The following are examples to control your positioning before a negotiation occurs.

Hanging with Influencers:

You’re perceived as an influencer when you surround yourself with those that influence others – that allows you to become better positioned. To advantage your position, consider becoming seen with the influencers that’ll have the greatest impact on those that you wish to influence. That will improve your positioning based on how others perceive you.

Controlling Your Message:

People will attempt to control your message. And they may hijack its intent to serve a purpose that’s better aligned with their goals, not yours. To oppose their efforts …

  • Control others that attempt to control your message. Don’t let them brand you or your message if it doesn’t support your positioning – confront them when they oppose you.
  • Beware of ear-jackers – Ear-jackers are people that will eavesdrop on your conversations when they’re in your environment. Most likely, they’ll appear to be engaged in other activities. They may be seeking salacious information that they can twist to demean you or enhance their positioning (e.g. I heard him say ‘XYZ’. I knew there was another side to him that he doesn’t want the public to see.)
  • Observe what happens in slow motion. Because we’re bombarded with activities, sometimes we miss what’s before us – most occurrences happen over an extended period-of-time. Take note of the changes that occur around you daily. It’s the short-term changes that could become long-term detriments to your positioning that you should be aware of.
  • Be innovative – When you’re seen as an innovator, you’re viewed as someone that’s leading others to their future. If they perceive that as a benefit, they’ll follow you more readily. And when you’re at the negotiation table, they’ll be more willing to accept your offerings.
  • Control the flow of your messages. Always consider the impact one message will have on another when you send it into the realm of public opinion. If you initiate messages that are less important too frequently, messages that might have a greater impact on your positioning will be less potent – and the more important messages may miss your intended audience altogether.

Use Appropriate Words:

Words control emotions. And emotions control perceptions. To control your positioning better, control the words that control your message. As an example, depending on the situation, it may be beneficial to use the word squabble versus fight (e.g. we had a squabble) – that’s less impactful than, we had a fight. The exchange of those two words alters the perception of the situation.

Perception is Reality:

When it comes to controlling your positioning, perception is reality. Your integrity intentions can be in alignment with your actions and if someone taints it with their ill-will, you could become seen as someone with less integrity. That’ll impact the way the other negotiator interacts with you. That could be to the detriment of both of you and the negotiation.

Being a better negotiator starts first with how you’re positioned. It shapes the way you’re perceived at the negotiation table. It determines how the other negotiator will strategize to negotiate against you. And it will have an impact on how effective your negotiation efforts will be. To negotiate better, always pay careful attention to your messages and how they position you. Because, the better you position yourself per how you wish to be perceived, the easier the negotiation will be … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#Right #Cure #Disasters #BodyLanguage #Liar #Beware #Negotiate #Process #Power #Powerful #Emotion #Business #Progress #SmallBusiness #Negotiation #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #BodyLanguageSecrets