Negotiation Tips No. 97 Negotiating on-line (1) I’ve been asked recently about on-line negotiations. The first thing we need to understand is the difference between an on-line auction and a negotiation. An auction is merely the placing of competitive bids against other bidders in a controlled on-line environment. This is most definitely not a negotiation. A true on-line negotiation differs from the traditional face to face negotiation only in as much as the method of communication is different. Negotiating by needs to be more thoughtful and the script needs to be analysed and revised carefully. The meaning of words can be very easily changed by being read in a tone of voice very different from that of the sender. The use of emoticons tries to offer some tone guides that will be helpful to the reader. There is no real alternative to a face to face meeting but if you must communicate by be careful of the words and revise your text most carefully. © Tom Beasor 2001

Sales Tips No. 78 Be the Man! I recently made two sales calls to a prospective client. I prepared a proposal and discussed it with him. Finally I asked if he felt able to commit and he told me that he needed to speak to his boss. My jaw nearly broke my kneecap as it dropped. I’d been selling to the wrong person. I’d been talking to the oily rag instead of the engineer. It was my mistake. Learn from it. Always ensure that you are selling to the right person. A simple acronym is: MAN. You want to talk to someone who has the money, the authority and the need. Try to talk to no other people. Occasionally you need to talk to gatekeepers and advisors and assistants but realise that when you want a real decision you’re going to have to talk to the main MAN. © Tom Beasor 2001

Management Tips No 26 Go on, admit it! Everybody fouls up from time to time. Perfect performance just doesn’t happen over any length of time. The real secret to being “perfect” is to perfectly admit your mistakes when you do get it wrong. Most team members and bosses know when something isn’t going right. What impresses them is when people plead “guilty”, apologise, put it right and ensure that it doesn’t happen again. I believe that you can gain much more loyalty from staff and colleagues by being honest in this way rather than by trying to offer excuses and what’s worse trying to shift the blame. It’s a simple and effective policy. Maybe you need some bravery but that shouldn’t be a problem, should it? © Tom Beasor 2001