What “The Closer” Can Teach You About Negotiating?

No, I’m not talking about closing deals like in the movie, Glengarry Glen Ross, or hanging out in timeshare boiler rooms. Maybe a future topic…

I’m talking about the TV show, “The Closer.”

The show is about Deputy Chief (Brenda) Johnson, an expert interrogator who closes nearly every case with a confession.

At some point in the show Brenda interviews a suspect in the interrogation room.

There’s a table, a few chairs. Nothing fancy.

And although she’s very capable at interviewing the suspect by herself, does she?

Or does she have another cop in the room, and several more behind the glass watching the interrogation take place?

More is Better!

You better believe it. She wouldn’t go anywhere without her team.

Why?

Because she can be so much more effective with her team at her side.

• Whether it is feeding her new information about the case.
• Or telling her something about the suspect based on the direction the interview is taking.
• Or playing bad cop to her good cop.
  

Make it an Unfair Fight…In Your Favor!

Whatever it is, her game improves by stacking the odds in her favor. Having the information, the live feedback, the timely interruption (to go outside the room and have a brainstorming session); they help Brenda get more confessions

So What Does This Mean To Me And My Business?

Now let’s translate this into a business negotiation.

Imagine you’re in a negotiation that is emotionally charged (like buying your home). In the negotiation you bring a lot to the table, namely a personal stake (and passion) in ensuring you get a favorable result (that you buy the house at a good price).

Now let’s say you’re buying this house from an owner directly. He loves his house and wants a premium price. You like the house but don’t value it as highly as the owner. You’re both emotionally tied to the negotiation and it shows as the negotiation proceeds. At a certain point you’re both at a point where the deal is not going to be completed.

Now compare this to a negotiation where you each have a real estate agent representing your interests. They don’t get emotionally involved. They deal with facts and attempt to persuade the other agent as to where the deal should close. In the end the deal gets done more often than not.

The third situation is the owner’s agent is negotiating on the owner’s behalf and you and your agent meet with the owner’s agent. In this situation if you and your agent work together, you could get a better result.

Why?

Why Two Is Better Than One

Because you supply the passion (and the, “let’s walk” stance, if you don't get what you need) and your agent supplies the calm perspective (“let’s just see what they’re proposing before we pass on this deal.”)

I saw this work well for me several times in the last week where the result was better than I would have gotten on my own.

Try it for yourself and see the results. I think you’ll be happily surprised.

Mike

P.S. You might try involving others in other areas of your life and see similar gains.

How Much Money Are You Leaving On The Table? – Part II

Last time we looked at the effect of Joshua Bell, a virtuoso violinist, playing a subway street performer.

Out of context, a performance that would normally have paid him $60,000 netted him $40.

Why only $40?

The interesting thing is his skills didn’t change and his performance didn’t change. The only thing that changed was the venue and people’s expectations.

Or is that true?

I think there’s a lot more to it than just those things…and many of these things can be applied to your business.

The Six Laws of Persuasion

In the last article we examined Cialdini’s six laws of persuasion:

• Reciprocity
• Commitment/Consistency
• Liking
• Scarcity
• Authority
• Social Proof
  

And we scratched the surface of how those factors played out in this situation.

Now let’s dig a little deeper.

RECIPROCITY

Reciprocity is interesting because it tends to take a bit more time to convert goodwill into dollars. When it does (especially when combined with the other laws), it can have a huge effect.

What are some ways we could supercharge the reciprocity in this situation and work to get Joshua’s pay increased dramatically?

How about…

1. Have a cardboard sign that says, “I apologize for the bad acoustics.”
2. Play with an up and coming violin student from the Washington D.C. public school system. Then introduce him, “As a violinist who’s played for many of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras, Washington D.C. schools has many talented musicians…this is one. Give him a big Washington D. C. welcome!”
3. Begin with a duet with another street performer in that performer’s musical genre and then transition into a related classical song for extra effect.
4. Have his performance recorded and sell the video on public television and the audio CD on National Public Radio with the proceeds donated to Washington D. C. public school music programs and/or other worthy causes.
   

Next time…Commitment/Consistency will be in our crosshairs.


Until then.

How Much Money Are You Leaving On The Table? – Part I

Imagine you’re walking through a crowded Washington D.C. subway station at rush hour, on your way to work.

You come upon a man playing classical music on a violin. He is dressed like any other street performer. People walk by. Some toss some money his way. A few stop for a few minutes then continue on. Nothing out of the ordinary.


What do you do?
· Avert your glance and walk faster?
· Just keep walking?
· Stop and listen for a minute?
· Toss some loose change in and keep walking?
· Listen for a while and tip well?


Would you change your mind if…
· He was really good?
· You knew he had a $3 million dollar violin?
· You knew this man is usually paid over $1,000 a minute?
· Other people stopped and listened too?


Washington Post Experiment

This was, in reality, a Washington Post experiment.

The Post asked Leonard Slatkin, music director for the National Symphony Orchestra,

“What do you think would occur, hypothetically, if one of the world’s great violinists had performed incognito before a traveling rush-hour audience of 1,000 odd people?”

Slatkin said,

“Let’s assume that he is not recognized and just taken for granted as a street musician…Still, I don’t think if he’s really good, he’s going to go unnoticed. He’d get a larger in Europe…but, okay, out of 1,000 people, my guess is there might be 35 or 40 who will recognize the quality for what it is. Maybe 75 to 100 will stop and spend some time listening.”

When asked how much he would make, Slatkin said,

“About $150.”


What’s Your Guess?
· Out of 1,000 people, how many people stopped to listen?
· How much money did the violinist receive?

Here’s what happened. 39 year old prodigy, Joshua Bell, who played to packed houses where the cheapest seats are $100 a head, took his $3.5 million violin, and played classic violin pieces that have stood the test of time but would not stand out as pieces everyone would know and so stop to listen to.

In about 45 minutes,
· 1,070 people passed by
· 7 people stopped for at least a minute
· 27 gave money
· Total collected? $32 and change


What makes a performance worth $40 versus $60,000?

It’s interesting to see how people decide what is valuable and what is not. What to ignore, and what to pay attention to. In “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion,” Robert Cialdini outlines six laws of persuasion.

Six Laws of Persuasion
These laws are:
1. Reciprocity
2. Commitment/Consistency
3. Liking
4. Scarcity
5. Authority
6. Social Proof

So how do these factors that came into play in this situation?

1. Reciprocity

Reciprocity gets you to the $40/hour. You play and people feel guilt or enjoyment and pay.

2. Commitment/Consistency
If they typically give money to street performers they might do that here. If not, they won’t.

3. Liking
Is the performer attractive or performing in an attractive way? Not really in this situation so easy to ignore.

4. Scarcity
Looks like another street performer. These guys are everywhere. Nothing special. Not valuable.

5. Authority
No one I respect or who is knowledgeable about music is saying I should listen to this person perform.

6. Social Proof
Is there a crowd gathering? No? Then he must be nothing special.


What does the concert hall performance have that the street performer option does not?

I believe a lot of it has to do with the frame that is created and using the six persuasion levers more effectively.

What can you learn from this test to improve your company’s profits?

Find out in the next installment…