Who’s the most important person in a negotiation? You? Nope….if you feel that way, and they perceive you do not value their position or them as a person, you will most likely lose or not get the sale.
You must make them feel important, and you need to believe that they are. But this is probably another 90/10 rule, as it is much more powerful for your subject/opponent/potential customer to feel important. You believing it is probably less crucial, especially if you are a good actor.
A VP of sales I used to work with was nick named Rambo, because he never lost the deal. He slayed meetings and I couldn’t figure out why. Our corporate psychologist (longer story) clued me in. He said to me “he’s like Eddie Haskel, over complimenting his potential customers”.
Once I was wise to his ways, it was amazing to watch. He was often over the top, spreading compliments out in meetings extremely liberally. Almost sucking up to the point of it being sickening. And in the end…..it worked like magic.
He would goo and gaa over baby pictures, fawn over someones good looks, be amazed at awards on the wall, etc etc. And we would walk out with the order every time.
It’s human nature!
Now I don’t recommend you be exactly like Eddie or Rambo as often they were eventually seen as disingenuous. But it won’t hurt to be generously kind, complimentary, and excited about the subject of your attention’s life, accomplishments, business, etc etc.
And in the end, if you shower them with compliments and positive vibes, you might just get what you are seeking from them.
Try it, they’ll like it!
Andy Cagnetta owns and operates Transworld Business Advisors www.tworld.com. He joined the company as a sales associate and later purchased it. Transworld is an international franchise business and franchise brokerage, with thousands of businesses for sale and franchisees in the United States and Internationally.
