The most difficult negotiation of them all
My 3 favorite books on negotiation (and parenting). And how you can leverage your reputation to get more prospects, convert more customers and sell more.
I'm reading this book for the third time and found something for you...
You see, this morning I was lying in bed, trying to find reasons to stay there. So I started reading Getting More by Stuart Diamond again.
This is the third time I'm reading this book, as it is one of my favorite negotiation books (along with Start with No by Jim Camp, and Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss).
However, at the moment I am mostly reading it to help me become better at parenting. Because let me tell you: the most difficult negotiations you'll ever have are with a 5 year old.
Stuart Diamond was an negotiation trainer, and in the book he shares the following story about a negotiation practice session during one of his classes:
Once, a lawyer and a law student made an agreement with each other during a negotiation. The student’s team broke the agreement and beat the lawyer’s team soundly. The lawyer was outraged. He stood up in front of this large class and said to the student: “I have all the information I need about you for the rest of your life.”
The student responded, “Hey, lighten up, it’s just a game.” To which the attorney said, “If this is what you’ll do for points, just think what you’ll do for money.”
Having a reputation as being trustworthy makes all business easier. If people trust your business, it'll be easier to sell to them, they'll buy more...and they'll keep coming back.
And here's the thing: if you've been in business for a while, and you have customers coming back regularly...then you likely already have a good reputation.
But...are you leveraging your reputation to grow your business?
Your reputation can be a strong part of your Unique Selling Proposition...and it is especially strong because your reputation is something that other businesses cannot easily replicate.
A strong Unique Selling Proposition is the cornerstone of any successful business. It is the unique position that your business has in the mind of your potential customer. How you are positioned in their mind determines whether or not they will choose to do business with you.
With a strong USP, customers won't even look at your competitors. But, without a strong USP, you will always have to fall back to competing on price.
If you don't have a strong USP already...then develop or uncover your USP before you do any more marketing. Otherwise you are wasting a significant amount of money in lost prospects and sales.
In today's email newsletter, I shared the first question you need to answer if you want to develop a strong USP for your business, a USP that will make your competition irrelevant and your customers fall in love with you.