1. Negotiation Tips No. 91 Value and Relationships The first words that I ask delegates on training programmes to learn are: Value and Relationships. I believe that any fool can obtain value in a negotiation if they are prepared to sacrifice the relationship that they have with the other party. Conversely anybody can be perceived to be a great relationship builder when they are never demanding and give up all of the value whenever times get tough. An effective negotiator understands the balance between obtaining great short term value and at the same time building powerful long term relationships that will create even more value over months to come. Most negotiators meet their counterparts regularly. You should ensure that when you meet your opponents again it will be within the context of a good long term arrangement with positive feelings on both sides. © Tom Beasor 2001 tom_beasor@compuserve.com

2. Sales Tips No. 72 Selling up the Supply Chain You obviously know your clients. You know your competitors. How well do you know the other people who supply your clients? It may well be that your expertise in a particular market sector might be very appropriate to other suppliers to your clients. It shouldnt be very hard to find out what else your clients buy and from whom. This could be a very good source of leads as it will go without saying that youll have experience in the same market sector. A very good example is financial services. If you know your clients needs well then youll understand the market sector well and you should be able to put together a winning pitch for a whole variety of people who operate in the same market place. Even a humble commodity like stationery might benefit from some sector focus and telling clients that you specialise in financial services, or manufacturing or whatever adds real value to your message. You can then provide your existing client as a reference. © Tom Beasor 2001 tom_beasor@CompuServe.com

3. Management Tips No 20 Its Meeting Time If you were to refuse to go to any meeting that failed to send you an agenda in advance youd free up untold amounts of time. First of all youd ensure that the agenda really was important and that you really needed to be there. Secondly youd be able to see what items on the agenda needed your personal attention and which ones you could skip. There is absolutely no reason why everyone needs to be at the whole meeting. Its not a tough issue to group the agenda items so that people can come in for their sections and then leave. Obviously this would make for shorter and better focussed meetings which for some staff may create some serious holes in their days but with a little help and guidance they should be able to find something more productive to do. © Tom Beasor 2001 tom_beasor@compuserve.com