Apr 012013
 

OK, so we’ve been over “after the close, shut up” recently.  Something reminded me tonight of another pair of closely related axioms:

  • From the seller’s side:  If the buyer takes your first offer, you could have gotten more.
  • From the buyer’s side:  If the seller takes your first offer, you could have paid less.

Now obviously, there’s not much you can do about it on this transaction.  If you’re  a person of integrity, then well, you just agreed to terms, so honor them.

But you can carry forward what you learned here into future negotiations.  For one thing, get your reasonable-sounding number, then bump it a little bit.  Always bump it a little bit.  For another, play back the entire interaction, as best as you can remember it, carefully.  Did the other party give you any behavioral hints?  Was there anything that didn’t seem significant at the time, but might be in the context of his/her overly ready acceptance?

We tend to undervalue rapport with a potential transactional partner.  If you’ve spent time with a person and you’re clicking a bit, go ahead and ask above what you think you can get (or offer below what you think you’ll have to pay).  You’ve built enough relationship to absorb any minor offense resulting from a rejection.

(And they might say yes.)

 Posted by at 10:51 pm
Feb 272013
 

Well, let’s see if hitting me in the pocketbook will motivate me to lose significant weight.

I won’t get into specifics, but the upshot is that I have to complete a lot of activities this year to avoid paying a surcharge on my medical insurance premiums next year. (The activities tend to be things that burn a lot of calories.)

This appeals to my competitive nature. It appeals to my business sense. Can I fan those flames enough to drop a waist size or two? Stay tuned.

 Posted by at 10:18 am
Feb 122013
 

My old friend Jeff Rybak died suddenly on Sunday.  He was 47 years old.  He leaves behind Amy, his wife of 23 years, and their three children (Nick, 20; Erica, 17; and Ian, 9). You know what?  Jeff leaves behind everyone who ever interacted with him.  He was a special guy, with equal parts strength [...]

 Posted by at 5:45 pm

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