Guerrilla Negotiating

Guerrilla Negotiating has to be one of the most interesting books on Negotiation which I've read in quite a while. It kicks off with the premise that in life no matter what you do, negotiations are unavoidable and such negotiation skills are a necessary skillset to have. However, throughout the book, a strong emphasis is placed on using the tricks and techniques outlined ethically because these can all slide into the unethical grey areas if not applied correctly.

And then, the rest of the book jumps into the wide array of strategies which lead you from the opening maneuvers to controlling the negotiation to the followup work of keeping the deal together. Interestingly, there has also been mention of Cialdini's 6 Principles of Influence which I thought melded in nicely with the understanding the art of influencing your counterpart.

One of the most interesting chapters in the book was one exploring the effects of price on a deal. These days, too many people deal with too great an emphasis on pricing without consideration of other factors and if you meet people like this, one way to deal with them may go something like this :

"I don't care about anything but price. Give me your best price or get out." You might be tempted. Instead, call their bluff.
"Okay, here's the deal. Find the best price you can find. I'll beat it by 10 percent, guaranteed! But I get to choose when I deliver."
"I don't think so." they'll retort.
"All right, I'll beat the best price you can find. But i get to select the quality to ship."
"Uh ... no!"
"Hmm. so I guess price isn't more important than on-time delivery or quality after all?" You've made your point

Highly recommended whether you're in the sales profession or just want to improve your general negotiating skills!