"PERSUASION AND INFLUENCE: AN AUTHENTIC FOUR-STEP PROCESS"

INTRODUCTION

A common and familiar complaint: "How can I make sure my ideas are being heard? Just last week I was in a meeting during which I suggested a solution to a problem. They totally ignored me. Twenty minutes later, someone else suggested exactly the same idea almost verbatim and, low and behold, the entire group embraced it enthusiastically and gave him the credit. It is so frustrating - what can I do?"

I have been asked this question or some variation of it numerous times and thought it would be of value to address it in my column.

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"NEGOTIATION: THE ART OF DIPLOMACY IN BUSINESS"

INTRODUCTION

In the international relations and statesmanship arena, everyone understands the difference between diplomacy and war. Furthermore, we recognize the cost of war and we only pursue it as a last resort after all efforts at diplomacy have failed. In the business arena however, the line between diplomacy and war is not quite so clear and we often confuse the two.

For example, we frequently approach negotiations (a diplomatic process to be sure), as a war of wills and an attempt of one party to dominate and "conquer" the other. We deploy tricky tactics and intimidation rather than sophisticated and authentic technique.

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"LESSONS FROM PUTIN'S NEGOTIATION STRATEGY IN SYRIA"

BACKGROUND

The Syrian crisis is a confusing conflagration even for seasoned observers of international affairs. There appear to be three primary entities: The Assad regime battling for survival, the moderate rebels (comprised of many internal interest groups) supposedly fighting both the Assad regime and ISIS, and ISIS fighting the Assad regime and the moderate rebels in their advance towards domination of the region.

To complicate matters, we now have the United States supporting the moderate rebels in their fight against the Assad regime. The US ostensibly wants to oust Assad due to his gross violations of human rights and obstruction of democracy.

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"THE BRIDGE OF SPIES" Russian Roulette or Predictability in Negotiations"

BACKGROUND

The recent movie, "The Bridge of Spies" brings to light a critical negotiation that took place at the very height of the cold war. The negotiation involved the exchange of a Soviet spy, Rudolph Abel, captured in the US in 1957, for a downed pilot of a U-2 "Dragon Lady" spy aircraft, Gary Powers, captured by the Soviets in 1960.

The situation was further exacerbated by a seemingly unrelated event - the capture of an American economics student, Frederic Pryor by the recently established German Democratic Republic (East Germany) around the same time.

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"INVESTIGATIVE SELLING™ Incorporating Effective Negotiation Techniques To Transform your Sales"

CONVENTIONAL SALES

Many people perceive sales as a process which is separate and distinct from negotiation. To be sure, they understand that once a sale is achieved, negotiation follows so as to agree on various terms and conditions, but they do not see negotiation as part and parcel of the initial sales process.

As a result, they see a sales meeting as an opportunity to "sell" themselves and "pitch" their products or services. They allow themselves to launch into a monotonous monologue about their expertise, successes and how their products or services will realize every dream of the potential customer. They become so absorbed in their enthusiastic rhetoric, that they fail to notice the visual cues that convey utter boredom and lack of interest on the part of their prospective customers. They are quite oblivious to the fact that in all probability, they have already lost them. Sound familiar?

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