Out of the Mouths of Babes - Negotiation Best Practices

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Testing the follow-up on great content-marketing campaigns: Most companies fall flat - By Richardson

I witnessed a negotiation between my 4-year-old niece and her dad, a strong, smart communicator.

Let\'s listen in:

Emily: Daddy, can I have some jelly beans?

Dad: Well, OK but 2 - Tomorrow, I want you to finish your lunch.

Emily: (pause) Daddy, may I have 5 and I\'ll eat all of my lunch tomorrow.

Dad: Well - three.

Emily: (silently looking at the bowl of jelly beans) Hmm...hmm...hmmm...

Dad: OK, 4.

Emily: Daddy, can I have one of each color?

Dad: Scanning the beans and quickly counting them. Well, I don\'t know.

Emily: (silence)

Dad: 1 of each color?

Emily: (silence)

Dad: OK but just 1.

Emily: (as she is eating her jelly beans) "Daddy, you can have 1 too."

Dad: Thanks.

Emily: Daddy, can Suzie Bear have 1 jelly bean? ...to be continued

There are powerful lessons to be learned by observing a child negotiate. What made Emily so effective?
She was focused.
She had a clear objective.
She stayed focused.
She remained collaborative. She did not make an extreme demand - 5 gave her enough wiggle room without letting her seem unreasonable or demanding.
She used three effective negotiation strategies: She negotiated the future, even offering more than was requested
She used silence very effectively twice, instinctively understanding that the first to speak is the first to fold. And finally, she tried the nibble with her Suzie Bear tactic to get a little more at the end and also to show her willingness to share.
She was patient.
She was creative, going out of the box and changing the parameters from number to colors
Most importantly, she used the relationship. Using a consultative approach, she created a win-win - Both parties left hand-in-hand (to the toy store - just kidding).

Emily had something special going for her - love. While we may not share "love" with our clients, building positive rapport, trust, and a strong respectful relationship is the basis for good business and good negotiators.

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Testing the follow-up on great content-marketing campaigns: Most companies fall flat - By Richardson

About the Author: Richardson

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Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web
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Out of the Mouths of Babes - Negotiation Best Practices

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