APF Professional Development Session Vancouver 8 th July, 2011 The Graceful Art of Negotiating Marcus Barber

Today Understanding the Negotiation Process A few tips Some competitive practise A couple of recommendations

What is Negotiating?

What is Selling?

Interlinked yet Different Negotiating is about establishing the key needs of parties to an engagement Selling is about establishing the terms by which a transaction will be accepted The Value of a sale accrues AFTER the sale The Value of negotiating accrues BEFORE a sale is made

Negotiating is the most highly paid per hour skill you can ever develop! Negotiators that develop win/win/win outcomes are highly rewarded

In your industry... Who or where is the main source of competition for business? P

Negotiating Game 1 Partner up & Follow your instructions – DO NOT share your instructions with your partner Points: 10 pts each for reaching an agreement 5 bonus pts for highest negotiated price 5 pts for best condition -10 pts for no agreement reached Bonus pts for something I think of

Tactics & Tricks The flinch The squeeze The Little bit extra The Walk away The high engagement The time drain The Higher Authority The Take Away

When Negotiating NEVER give a concession without the other party also making a concession: 'Well if I do that for you, what can you do for me?' 'That's the amount for the project value. If you want to reduce your investment, what parts of the project would you like to remove?'

Negotiating Game 2 Partner up & Follow your instructions – DO NOT share your instructions with your partner Points: 10 pts each for reaching an agreement 5 bonus pts for highest negotiated price 5 pts for best condition -10 pts for no agreement reached Bonus pts for something I think of

Understanding Negotiations People do NOT want the same things – what might be important to you could be irrelevant to the other party Perception is reality in negotiating – the person who thinks they have the power, usually comes out better If you don't understand negotiating you are likely to become shark bait!

How to Set Your Pricing Hourly Half day rate Expenses + desired profit Project Day rate Lifestyle Supported

Justifying a Discount There MUST always be a reason for giving a discount and there is always a legitimate reason why you can do something cheaper - New Client Offer - Regular Client discount - Not for profit - Industry attractiveness NB: Every invoice notes why a discount occurred and lists the initial FULL price

Three Great Resources '29 Closing Tactics' by Roger Dawson 'Negotiating in the age of integrity' by Wayne Berry 'Million Dollar Consulting' by Alan Weiss

A Negotiating Success Story

Asking Price - $365k Structurally sound but needed updating of all finishes In an excellent area On a bigger block than most homes nearby We'd been looking 2yrs Needed new kitchen New bathroom would be good at some point Next to biggest & best parkland in suburb Close to all schools and public transport On a major road Current owners looked already packed

Summary Selling and negotiating are different parts of the process There's plenty of tactics and tips out there – use them and develop them Perception is reality – your biggest industry competitor is probably YOU!

Summary Bigger firms have bigger overheads to carry – sell access to the expertise, NOT ownership of the expertise Concede, but don't discount Be willing to walk away from unreasonale offers and clients – lose/win is bad karma as is win/lose