What do you know about value?

“… I’m so sorry for your inconvenience. I can upgrade you to a better room.” Those were the words spoken by a front desk person at a 5-star hotel. He was informing a guest of what he could do as the result of the patron experiencing a restless night. The patron’s restlessness was due to his loud neighbors in other rooms on the floor. The patron had begun calling the front desk around 12-midnight to complain. Throughout the night, he called several more times – all to no avail to squelch the noise that prevented him from sleeping. He thought to himself, and this yammering is ceaseless.

When he checked out of the hotel the next morning, he told the desk manager of his experience. The manager extended apologies on behalf of the hotel, stated that the night’s stay would be removed from the guest’s bill and asked if there was anything else that he could do. The patron said no. I appreciate the gestures you’ve made. Then he said, “all I wanted was a good night’s sleep. I have an important meeting today. And I just wanted to be fresh and well-rested.” As he left the hotel, he wondered if he’d ever stay at that location again.

Do you see the difference between how the front desk person and the desk manager addressed the situation? It’s slight. But it’s also powerful. The desk manager extended apologies, and he asked the guest if there was anything else that he could do. He was seeking the guest’s perspective of value. In other words, he wanted to know what was essential to the guest. If you don’t know what someone values, you don’t know what to offer them. That means you’re making blind offers when doing so in a negotiation.

When you negotiate, there are five factors to keep in mind about value.

1. People have a different perspective on what they value and why. Once you know their value perspective, seek to understand it.

1. Don’t assume because someone is like you that they’ll like you. Even when people have similar values, there will be nuances that separate their opinions about value. To assume you share exact ideals as your negotiation counterpart can lead to offers and counteroffers that are not valued. In a worst-case scenario, such offers can be damaging to your negotiation efforts.

1. When you’re unsure of a person’s value, ask what they’d least like to lose. The reply will indicate what is of most importance.

1. To test someone about their value, ask, “if there’s one thing that I could grant you in this negotiation, what would it be?” Once again, that person’s value proposition will reside in their response.

1. This last suggestion may fall into the red herring category. It entails discovering something you possess that’s of great value to the other negotiator. Entice that person to believe that he can acquire it but at a very high cost. The higher he’s willing to pay for the acquisition, the higher the value of possessing it will be. Be cautious when engaging this means of acquiring someone’s value perspective. If you don’t allow them to receive it after getting them to make substantial offers, they could become unwilling to grant you much after that. Then, the negotiation might hit a roadblock.

To become a better negotiator, you must always understand what is of value to your negotiation counterpart. Once you do, making better offers will be more comfortable – because you’ll know which offers possess the highest value… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at [email protected]

“I never prepare for presentations, I just wing it.” I often hear this said about presentations and I’m not entirely sure I believe this statement. At least, not about successful presentations.

As for those who are clearly flailing, then perhaps all preparation has been forgotten in favour of nerves. But only the supremely confident will make the statement above, and even then there must have been some elements of preparation, if only being sure that prior experience combined with good industry and audience knowledge are enough.

How do you prepare?

Do you panic?

Do you rehash your last presentation? What if it didn’t work the last time? Is it simply a case of fingers crossed and hope for the best?

Do you write some PowerPoint slides around your subject and then plan out what you’ll say afterwards?

These methods are a bit like playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey. You might hit the spot, but you might not. Your audience will certainly let you know that you haven’t if you fail to prepare properly. It’s also unfair to lead them on a mystery tour if you’re rambling through PowerPoint slides with no clear path.

The key to preparation is to know beforehand what you want to achieve from your presentation.

What do you want your final outcome to be? More signups to courses? Knowledge transfer? Whatever this goal is, write it in big letters, stick it on a wall where you can easily see it and ensure every aspect of your presentation can be justified by that goal. Just as all projects need a business case, so do your presentations.

You also need to be able to gauge your success criteria for your presentation and this also requires preparation. Do you want quantifiable or qualified results? How will you measure your success? Can you relate it all to your desired results easily?

If you prepare carefully for a presentation and think carefully about the results you want to achieve with the audience you have then your presentation should be successful and fun. If you simply wing it; then prepare for your credibility to fly out of the window…

How many conferences and events have you been to where you have been preached at by someone in a pinstripe suit, drowning you with countless volumes of PowerPoint slides? Most people that stand up at a conference are brilliant at what they do – they are truly experts in their field and have more knowledge than they could be possibly share with you the audience in half a lifetime, let alone their current allocated time slot. Many (not all) of these speakers haven’t got a clue about engaging and connecting with you and as a result they are totally forgettable. When asked afterwards who you remember, the chances are the most you’ll remember will be the fact that they all wore pinstripes.

When I started speaking publicly I was what I call a competent corporate presenter – meaning I had a strong voice, spoke with authority and got my message across in an effective and professional’ manner. I use the word ‘professional’ here in an ironic way, as I believed that I was presenting professionally because I looked and sounded the part – I wore the corporate mask of professionalism. I had a serious tone to my voice, had plenty of facts to pass on and had a grown up expression on my face.

Therein lies the issue – the Corporate Mask – this is where professional people stand on stage and present as they have been conditioned to do so, having seen colleagues and peers get ‘through it’ by using “Pinstripes @ PowerPoint”.

By contrast the memorable presenters and speakers are having fun, they are enjoying themselves and are carrying the audience with them. Hiding behind vast reams of data, facts and statistics does not connect with the audience – however telling stories that relate to the important messages, reinforce the message and potentially inject some levity into the room will make most speeches and speakers memorable.

You can use Google to get some top tips for using PowerPoint – my strong advice is to avoid using PowerPoint at all. If there are any acts and figures then use a hand out afterwards to remind everyone of the key points mentioned. Nearly all presenters and speakers that use PowerPoint are guided by the slides, thereby making their speeches stilted and lacking in flow – without it they become more natural and expert in their delivery.

Also, why is it that when someone delivers wearing the “corporate mask” you rarely see them smile? Is it because smiling doesn’t look professional and serious? Yet without a smile on stage the presenters look grumpy and angry, as though they do not want to be there. Try using some simple anchoring techniques and positive associations in the mind to make you smile more. There are many tricks you can play on yourself whilst presenting that are not visible to the audience but will make you feel relaxed and smile – I’ll let your imagination go wild now as these triggers need to be personal and have a positive effect on you.

Pinstripes & PowerPoint with a grumpy looking face will turn off the audience before you have even opened your mouth. Start with a smile, warm up before you go out, have loads of energy and speak from the heart not from the head, this will make you truly memorable for all the right reasons.