Today we're going to be talking about negotiations. Not everyone is a natural-born negotiator--I don't think I am, but I've learned to negotiate effectively. In this business, everything is a negotiation, so you need to learn how to do it well.

The obvious negotiations are purchase and sale prices. You're going to negotiate to get the lowest purchase price and the highest sale price. Negotiating is key to this business.

One of the worst things you can do when you negotiate is to be desperate. You do not want to negotiate in a state of desperation. People can smell the desperation on you, and you're not going to be able to negotiate effectively. When you don't have a deadline looming over you, you can wait for a better offer. When you're negotiating, you have to put yourself in a position where you can and will walk away from a negotiation if it's not going well.

You have to work hard to avoid being in a position of desperation when you're negotiating. Work hard to be the person in the negotiation who is able to walk away.