The Painless Negotiation: Anchor Your Way to a Great Deal … for Everyone

About the Author\nSteve Thompson is Managing Partner at Value Lifecycle™, which helps companies position, negotiate, and close critical business deals. In the past twenty-plus years, he has worked on more than $17 billion in B2B deals (for sellers and buyers) in dozens of industries. He previously worked in senior operations, sales, and executive management at Westinghouse, Black & Decker, and DuPont. Steve also served as a nuclear submarine officer in the US Navy.\nThe Painless Negotiation leverages the principles of The Compelling Proposal to turn “negotiations” into straightforward business discussions on how to best maximize the value in a deal for both parties.\nUsing just three key concepts, anyone can accurately diagnose which side has the power, how compelling a deal is and to whom, how to trade to overcome obstacles, and how to frame the “right negotiation” to implement the best negotiation strategy.\nNegotiating the “right way” then means ensuring we always trade (versus concede) and that no single thing is ever taken off the table—or agreed to—until the whole deal is agreed to.\nFrom the book:\n“The formal negotiation is ... where either all the good things you’ve done can pay big dividends, or all the ‘sins’ you’ve committed will have to be atoned for.”\n“Not creating value when selling and/or failing to ensure value delivery from previous purchases ... are the primary reasons that deals get stuck at the point of negotiation.”\n“While it may seem counterintuitive, it is easier to negotiate a deal with a dozen deal levers on the table than with just one or two.”\n“How you manage the negotiation with procurement will have a big influence on how the customer feels about the deal they make with you.”