Negotiation Columns & Blogs
Free Negotiation Training:
Learn Latz’s 5 Golden Rules of Negotiation.
We’ll send you a new video for each rule and you’ll get Marty Latz’s monthly column with great negotiation tips. We will not share your info. (privacy policy).
Similarities in Poker and Negotiation Strategies
I’ve always enjoyed poker, in part due to its similarities to negotiation: strategy, bluffing, reading others’ intentions, significant stakes, crucial verbal and non-verbal signals, split-second decisions with immediate consequences and feedback, and the list goes on....
Real Estate Agents’ Compensation Negotiations (Part Two)
How much should a home buyer or seller pay their real estate agent? Historically, the answer was 6% of the home sale price, split equally by the seller’s and buyer’s agents. But that amount was basically set by the National Association of Realtors, real estate agents’...
Real Estate Agents’ Commission Negotiations (Part One)
Most real estate agents consider themselves pretty good negotiators. After all, home buyers and sellers have been hiring agents for years to negotiate the purchase price of their homes (often the biggest financial transaction of their lives). Recently, however,...
Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo’s Unusual Negotiation Approach
“When somebody says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money,” noted writer H.L. Mencken and others. This applies in many negotiations. But not always. In fact, this has not been true for the third highest compensated college basketball coach in the...
What’s Important to You
Years ago in law school, I was taught to pay particularly close attention to any inconsistencies I noticed in litigation from our opponents – whether in depositions, motions or at trial. I was told to analyze their words, strategic moves, and tone and body language....
Evaluating Blue Chips vs Bargaining Chips (Part One)
"Pay extra attention to the minutiae and ensure you fully understand every term and condition,” this senior partner told me when I was a junior associate. “Some lawyers will try to bury critical provisions in the least obvious places. It’s your job to catch and...
Limited Authority Responses
"I would love to do the deal, but I just don’t have the authority.” I can’t count how many times I have heard this in a negotiation. It’s probably one of the most common statements in all negotiations. It’s also often a smart strategic move, especially if you know the...
Disadvantages of Taking a Break – Part Two
The vote to depose Managing Partner Jessica Pearson of Pearson Hardman, the fictitious law firm in USA Network’s legal drama series Suits, was moments away. She was going to lose. But then star associate Mike Ross barged into the meeting, threw a folder onto the...
Advantages to Taking a Break – Part One
"I just bought us 48 hours,” star lawyer Harvey Specter told his understudy in the USA Network legal drama series Suits. He said this after getting his incarcerated client to hit him, a shocking move that gave them sufficient time to elicit a confession from the real...
Ben Franklin’s Masterful Negotiations – Part Two
Founding Father George Washington has his famous cherry tree story about his honesty (which ironically was untrue). But Founding Father Benjamin Franklin has a real story about his very own mulberry tree behind his Philadelphia house – and it relates to his effective...
Ben Franklin’s Masterful Negotiation Lessons – Part One
Without Founding Father Benjamin Franklin’s extraordinary negotiation skills, the United States of America may not even exist. It was Franklin, after all, that successfully negotiated with France for sufficient financial and military resources to fight the British in...
Learning from Negotiation Mistakes
I have always been intensely competitive – in sports, business and in negotiations. It’s a strength and weakness. I remember losing a particular high school tennis match that really motivated me to hit the practice court even more. And to this day, I still feel...
How to Raise Your Rates
When I practiced law in the mid-1990s, my law firm sent out its new fee rates every January. And our clients basically just said “ok.” Our rates would go up a bit each year, and it was generally viewed as no big deal. With the incredibly competitive marketplace these...
Negotiating with Monkeys
I am unaware of any research into the negotiating habits of monkeys. But the monkeys in Bali do negotiate – at least with humans – and apparently do it fairly well. This week’s column is based on BBC Planet Earth’s 3-minute video (here’s the LINK) entitled The...
Lessons Learned 2023 – Part Two
Here’s part two of my annual list of lessons learned and a reminder to put these strategies into practice in 2024. You won’t get better results if you don’t implement them. Almost all negotiations involve the weighing and prioritizing of interests along with...
Free Negotiation Training:
Learn Latz's 5 Golden Rules of Negotiation.
We'll send you a new video for each rule and you'll get Marty Latz's monthly column with great negotiation tips. We will not share your info. (privacy policy).
Marty Latz's Analysis is Trusted by...
(Click the logos below to see the coverage. See more news coverage here.)
