Belisarius
Level 2 Member
Role playing is very helpful. Add a video record for a true self-learning tool.Being serious.... a good add-on to one of the events/DOs might be a recon call session where we role play recon calls with each other. It's interesting to hear other people's strategies and I'm in the camp that believes that social engineering skills can be improved through practice. Plus, it would facilitate us interacting with each other. It could be like speed dating but practicing recon calls.
Matt shared some great stuff above and if I could offer one practical suggestion that makes or breaks so many negotiations - the most common mistake of smart people with lot of information to share - is to learn to find comfort with silence.
Once the person is considering your proposition, be quiet. Do not break silence. Do not babble because you're nervous or there's some tension after the ask and you're worried about a negative outcome. And close directly - don't offer a meandering half-query that ends with a rising voice inflection at the end and weak minimizing language sprinkled throughout.
Summarize their position accurately and respectfully, state your own, ask a direct close.
"Jim Bob, given your reasonable concern about extending new credit, but in light of the fact that I have handled my current credit flawlessly, and factoring in my need to have this product for my nascent business selling porcelain unicorns, I'm open to reapportioning existing credit. Will you re-allocate $5,000 from my ESTABLISHED Ink Plus credit and devote that to my new United Explorer Business card?"
Now be quiet. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY.
If they say yes, say thank you. You're done. I've watched people win and then talk the person out of it because of their nervous babble and need to self-disclose.
If they say no, let them explain without interrupting. Ask a relevant clarifying question, sympathize with their response and do the exact same summary in different words, followed by your close.
No turns into yes fairly often. This is not manipulation. It's not being "salesy." It's being respectful of another person's concerns, summarizing them accurately and then proposing a mutually agreeable strategy.