Negotiation 101

Everyone is in sales is a statement from one of my mentors many years ago.

Would you be opposed to me teaching you a trick I have used over the years to win at job interviews and—especially—negotiations?

Most people would answer no to that question because it’s easier for most people to answer naturally with a no to a question than a yes. Also, people want to know what the interview trick I have is, so they would answer no, meaning that they are not opposed to me sharing that trick with them.

I won’t deep dive into sales techniques or human psychology in this book, but a good sales book is The Sandler Rules by David Mattson, and a guy named Josh Braun also has some good training. In addition, the book Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini can be helpful for understanding sales psychology.

Here are a few questions I have used over the years in interviews:

Would you be opposed to…?

Here’s an example:

Would...