In this episode of ProcurementZen - Valuable Insights in Negotiation and Procurement, host Phil  Kowalski interviews Alexandra Carter, Director of the Mediation Clinic at the Columbia Law School a seasoned mediation expert and author of the book Ask for More: 10 Questions to Negotiate Anything. Alexandra Carter talks about her book, the 10 questions that are covered in the work, advice she has learned in her experience, and the power of knowledge and preparation. 

Episode Highlights

• Why did Alexandra Carter write her book Ask for More: 10 Questions to Negotiate Anything?
• Why does she believe that questions are tools that are often neglected? 
• Understanding what you want as an outcome is part of the knowledge needed for negotiation preparation. 
• Take negotiation one step at a time instead of focusing on rigid choices. 
• What are the pros and cons in negotiation? 
• People falsely assume that procurement is easy and ‘everybody could do this.’ 
• Being open and clear up front is important in negotiation
• How can we get better at preparation? 
• Body language tells you a lot. 
• Do approaches to negotiate change when you get to higher professional levels?  
• Organizations are just large groups of people. 
• Steering relationships need to happen effectively and honestly. 
• Silence is important for both negotiation and relationship building.  

3 Key Points

1.  The best negotiators know that their great source of strength in negotiation is knowledge of yourself and the other person.  
2.  The first 5 of the 10 questions in Alexandra Carter’s book are ‘mirror questions,’ questions that you ask yourself. 
3. Transparency is the better way to negotiate.  

Resources Mentioned

• ProcurementZen.com
• SellMoreIdeas.com 
• Alexandra Carter’s Website: alexcarterasks.com
• Alexandra Carter’s Social Media: Linkedin
• Book: Ask for More: 10 Questions to Negotiate Anything by Alexandra Carter