Negotiate to Win

I am lousy in Negotiations. I am lousy to the degree that a salesman would make a discount for me without me asking just because he feels sorry for me because i am terrible in Negotiations. Here is a story that happened to me 12 years ago:-

I went to "Haidar Murad - Sharp", to buy a Tape Recorder.
Me: How much is this Tape Recorder?
Salesman: 40 JDs
Me: OK, Deal
Salesman: Is this how you negotiate! Do you call this negotiation!
Me: mmmmmm, ya3ni, walahe...
ٍSalesman: I will give it to you for 30 JDs
Me: OK

I was still young then so give me a break

So, trying to improve my great skills in negotiations, I bought a great book "Negotiate to Win" by Jim Thomas. A great book indeed. Not only it is very useful in giving you means and methods for negotiating successfully, but also it is hilarious.
Jim knows what we need to master and he gives it in a very simple and interesting way.

The books contains many sections with different advices and on what to do in different situation. I chose to give you some hints for the day to day negotiations that i found easy to remember:-
- Start High
- Krunch early and often:- That is, to give an indication to the other side that you have heard their offer and that you want a better one.
- Do your homework before you go to negotiations.
- Prepare an envelope of you Highest point, Target Price and Bottom Line.

On the Funny Side:- (no offense to lawyers, just for fun.)

"After a brief conference, the client prepared to leave his lawyer's office. Expressing his thanks for the lawyer's assistance, he inquired as to how much he owed. "A hundred dollars should take care of it," replied the lawyer. The client produced a crisp new hundred-dollar bill, and departed. Along in his office, the lawyer was absentmindedly playing with the hundred-dollar bill when suddenly he discovered that he had received not one, but two hundred-dollar bills, stuck together. "Now i have an ethical dilemma," said the lawyer to himself. "Do i tell my partner or not?"

BTW, have been trying for a couple of weeks to list my blog in Blog Aggregaters with no success. Any can help? thanks

Six Negative Listening Habits

Something i read today and liked to share with you. Extracted from The Emotional Intelligence Activity Book,” by Adele B. Lynn

I guess most of us use at least one of these habits, maybe with a good intention in heart.

Six Negative Listening Habits

The Faker
All the outward signs are there: nodding, making eye contact and giving the occasional “uh huh.” However, the faker isn’t concentrating on the speaker. His mind is elsewhere.

The Interrupter
The interrupter doesn’t allow the speaker to finish and doesn’t ask clarifying questions or seek more information from the speaker. He’s too anxious to speak his words and shows little concern for the speaker.

The Intellectual or Logical Listener
This person is always trying to interpret what the speaker is saying and why. He is judging the speaker’s words and trying to fit them into his logic box. He rarely asks about the underlying feeling or emotion attached to a message.

The Happy Hooker (most one i hate!)
The happy hooker uses the speaker’s words only as a way to get to his message. When the speaker says something, and frankly, it could be anything, the happy hooker steals the focus and then changes to his own point of view, opinion, story or facts. Favorite hooker lines are, “Oh, that’s nothing, here’s what happened to me…” or “I remember when I was…”

The Rebuttal Maker
This listener only listens long enough to form a rebuttal. His point is to use the speaker’s words against him. At his worst, he is argumentative and wants to prove you wrong. At the least, the person always wants to make the speaker see the other point of view.

The Advice Giver Giving advice is sometimes helpful; however, at other times, this behavior interferes with good listening because it does not allow the speaker to fully articulate his feelings or thoughts; it doesn’t help the speaker solve his own problems; it prohibits venting; it could also belittle the speaker by minimizing his or her concern with a quick solution. Well-placed advice is an important function of leadership. However, advice given too quickly and at the wrong time is a turnoff to the speaker.