Over the past year, I became convinced that Charlotte, NC and throughout the whole country, 2023 will be known as the year of negotiation. As a Charlotte Negotiation Skills Speaker and Charlotte Negotiation Technique Consultant the ability to negotiate has never been more important.
In November, 2022, the Workplace Learning Trend Report was released, and researchers found that “Persuasion” was the number one skill Charlotte, North Carolina sales professionals need (indeed, it had increased nearly 80-percent year-to-year) with pure negotiation skills growing more than 67-percent throughout North Carolina.
Why the huge uptick?
As a Charlotte, North Carolina Negotiation Skills Speaker, I was not at all surprised as to why negotiation skills are so valued in our state. The past year has seen a huge uptick in North Carolina M&A activity. The Charlotte Business Journal recently listed many, multi-billion dollar deals in banking, healthcare, credit unions, and entertainment. About a year ago, North Carolina negotiators closed deals topping $2.9 trillion with no end in sight.
The Raleigh-Durham area is no slouch when it comes to negotiation skills either. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, while 2021 was a banner year for activity, the 2022-2023 period, despite inflation, supply-chain issues, labor problems and raw materials challenges, will remain strong.
As a negotiation skills speaker who works in Charlotte, throughout North Carolina and nationwide, I see a strong year ahead because the area itself is so strong.
The Raleigh News & Observer recently interviewed Jason Caplain, a VC expert. Caplain said:
“I think we used to be a little bit of a secret. Now we’re seeing more and more private equity firms coming here visiting, calling, asking what’s going on here. What are we seeing? Like I just got off the phone a few minutes ago with one. They’re a $500 million fund, 10 times our size, asking ‘What’s happening in NC?’”
I’ll answer that question
Having taught negotiation skills and worked with many North Carolina firms, I am proud of our tremendous research efforts, innovation, opportunities and marketing savvy. However, our negotiation efforts representing numerous deals across the board have proven to be consistently successful.
Negotiation skills are not tools that are haphazardly learned or picked-up in a 15-minute session. Negotiation skills are honed, practiced and strive to be ethical and to give value to all parties. When I teach negotiation skills in Charlotte, Raleigh Durham or anywhere in the state, my objective is to arrive at a fair position where, instead of a win/loss proposition, everyone comes away from the table with an understanding they have negotiated a deal that empowers all parties.
Teaching negotiation skills in Charlotte and anywhere in North Carolina can be especially complex, as I often work with people who are involved in scientific, medical, engineering and finance areas. While there are always challenges, I also emphasize that anyone can be taught negotiation skills if they are willing to actively listen as well as talk, and to compromise as well as being inflexible.
I do believe that in Charlotte and in North Carolina, 2023 will signal a year where negotiation skills are more important than ever, I am happy to help.
To contact Mike Hourigan, Charlotte, North Carolina Negotiation Skills Keynote Speaker please call Mike today at (704) 875-3030 or fill out the form below.
