The One Minute Negotiator uses an engaging business parable to tell the story of a high-level sales professional who learns the value of understanding and executing a simple yet profound approach to negotiations – an approach that can be applied to getting the best loaner car while your cars in the shop, seeking a fair solution after a hotel messes up your reservation, closing a deal to get your product in a big-box retail store, or settling on the price for your new home.
There are two primary schools of thought when it comes to negotiation skills. One essentially comes from the Harvard Business School camp, and it’s perhaps best described as “Thou Shalt Collaborate.” This approach teaches that negotiating parties should always work together toward common interests. The other school of thought, mostly pushed by author/consultant Roger Dawson, takes an opposite approach. Call it “Thou Shalt Compete,” this approach is always overtly or subtly adversarial. The One Minute Negotiator differs in that it doesn’t single-mindedly push one strategy over the other—in the real world every negotiation differs depending on the participants and the circumstances. The authors provide an easy-to-use tool that allows you to understand your own negotiation strategy and quickly match it to the negotiation strategy used by the other side and to the situation.
Too many people lose out in negotiations because of apprehension and misunderstanding about the process—what the authors call “negotiaphobia”. By providing a simple, straightforward process anyone can use The One Minute Negotiator to help conquer their fears and achieve the most beneficial outcome in all their dealings.
