Do you want to be armed with the best negotiation practices and strategies before bringing your company to market? Today we’re going to be talking to Chris Voss, FBI veteran, CEO of the Black Swan Group, and author of Never Split the Difference, which was named one of the seven best books on negotiation. You’re going to learn how to get the best deal for yourself from one of the best negotiators on the planet. We’re going to talk about practical tactics you can use to level-up the playing field and put yourself in control throughout the exit process.

You will learn about:

Some of the details of Chris’s background and how he got into negotiating.

Information on tactical empathy as described as Chris’s book, and why it helps with negotiation.

The brain science behind how people react in times of stress and when negotiating or communicating with others.

Some of the primary things people can do before they go into a negotiation situation.

The “black swan theory” and how it can help you in your negotiating.

How a business owner can figure out why a buyer is interested in the first place, which will help with negotiations.

Specific tips on calibrating questions and the only way you should ever pose a “why” question.

When, why and how to say, “How am I supposed to do that?” as well as an example of how it worked for someone Chris knows.

Chris’s perspective on the words “no” and “yes.”

Tips for how you can get someone else to represent your interests well.

How to separate negative emotion from the process of negotiating.

Today we’re talking about emotional intelligence as it pertains to word choice at the negotiation table. Seems simple, right? Well, if you think you have it mastered, you’re dead wrong. Without even meaning to, we can incite emotions by our poor word choice (after all, what was your first reaction when I told you that you were flat-out wrong? I’m guessing you didn’t smile and agree with me). Knowing that, what can we do about it?

Enter Chris Voss, ex-FBI kidnapping and hostage negotiator who now uses his skills in the business field. He gives the rundown on some crucial preparations you can make before entering the ring with your potential buyer (or seller!) so you can avoid these costly mistakes.

Calibrate Your Words

We calibrate everything. We set our thermostats, GPS and music levels ‘just so’. So why are we less careful with our words? To top it off, we are told our whole lives that what we say matters — perhaps you’ve been told that your words hurt after a particularly strong-worded argument. Despite this excellent advice, we still try to dominate negotiations as if having the biggest vocabulary or the best numbers are enough to secure the deal.

Chris Voss says no. In fact, you run the risk of doing the opposite if you’re not careful. Let’s say you’ve got a buyer sitting across from you who says that they can’t do something because of X, Y or Z reason and you say the innocuous words, “I understand” in an attempt to bring the conversation around and work through this barrier. You’ve just shot yourself in the foot, effectively, because now your adversary is on alert because you’ve just reinforced their negative feelings rather than simply acknowledged them and let them pass.

This leads us to the next point…

Negative Emotions Impa