On Negotiating

The first times I really attempted to understand negotiating, was in the 80s. At the time Donald Trump was the talk of the town and the media over and over would rave about his prowess of Real Estate deal making. He was to be this multi-millionaire rainmaker in real estate. Never really gave it much thought until I started getting involved in real estate in 1994.

At the time, I was not doing actual real estate sales. I was doing admin work. Pauline had me listening to Mike Ferry tapes and going to seminars. "Negotiating contracts" came up over and over again as a REALTORS primary job. When I became licensed to sell real estate in 2001, I was thrown into the wolves in negotiating.

As it turns out, years later, I instinctively knew how to negotiatie. Being the eldest in my family, my parents relied on me to come up with solutions and plans. I was often in the driver's seat in my family, and rarely questioned.

Negotiating to me has come to this:

Know the facts from all points of view
Know the parties and understand they have an interest
Know how to ask questions
Know how to build rapport
Know how to analyze the information
Make a fair deal that all parties can be happy about.