Negotiation skills are essential in both personal and professional realms. Whether you are discussing a salary with a potential employer, haggling over the price of a car, or mediating a business deal, the ability to navigate and influence a discussion to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome is invaluable. Recognizing the significance of negotiation, organizations often seek the expertise of a renowned Negotiation Skills Speaker like Mike Hourigan to hone...
The Must, Should and Could of Negotiation As a negotiation skills keynote speaker who speaks on negotiation skills throughout the country, I have noticed a common point of confusion among many negotiators. Whether you are negotiating a deal in Denver, Colorado, Orlando, Florida or Boston, Massachusetts, you need to know the difference between “Must,” “Should,” and “Could.” Confusing those issues could turn the negotiation into a losing proposition for...
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...
As a negotiation skills speaker and negotiation skills consultant, I have noticed a troublesome trend in the modern-day hiring process. This trend should be reversed as a matter of priority especially in the current labor market which is anything but predictable. It goes to the matter of the hiring and interviewing process. What is your image? In my keynote talks on negotiation and the hiring process, I like to...
At no time in recent memory as a negotiation skills speaker, has the economy been more fragile than it is now. I make that statement based on my 30-years’ experience as a negotiation skills speaker, negotiation skills consultant and book author. If the hybrid workplace wasn’t confusing enough, we have inflation (with the looming possibility of recession), supply-chain issues, shortages of everything from computer chips to wheat, and most...
As a negotiation skills speaker and negotiation skills consultant, a frequent question that comes up in the Q&A sessions on negotiation is if the act of negotiation is just to reach agreement on contracts or the dialog between a sales organization and client. The question was far more meaningful than we might imagine especially in the present day where it is difficult to hire and retain exceptional people. The...
As a negotiation skills keynote speaker, I often have audience members ask questions such as, “How do I resolve conflicts?” or “How do I cool down an emotional meeting?” In speaking to executives about sales and negotiation skills for more than 20 years, I stress the same negotiation skills used between manufacturer and supplier, are applicable to delivering bad news to a client or employees. The need to reach...
My specialty, as a negotiation skills speaker and negotiation skills consultant often involve asking groups the following question: “Do you think you’re the good guy or the bad guy?” The usual answer from audience members in my negotiation skills speeches is, “I try to be the good guy. I guess it depends.” Bad guys are not necessarily bad Many executives, business and tradespeople believe that negotiation needs to be...
As a negotiation skills keynote speaker who teaches skills such as “don’t qualify your price,” I remember the old quote about those who negotiate the price of a product or service before the negotiation. “Qualifying price” is a negotiation skills mistake that far too many inexperienced negotiators make, and it has harmed thousands of businesses. Many Names, Same Result In teaching negotiation skills, as a keynote speaker I am...
As a Negotiation Skills Keynote Speaker in my keynote and break-out session talks for Pharma Companies on sales and negotiation skills, I ask the question: is negotiation really selling or is selling really negotiation? Whether we are selling or negotiating, we know that listening skills are crucial, but are there other things the two have in common? Sales & Negotiation Skills In a recent article for the Harvard Law...
In speaking and teaching on negotiation skills for association executives, I am all too familiar with the pressures on association meeting planners these days. Whether you are a professional meeting planner, work for a professional planner or your boss has thrown a meeting project in your lap, nothing about learning the negotiation skills for an annual meeting, quarterly meeting or regional training sessions is easy. In fact, it’s become...