Strike first, aim big

When negotiating a contract always try to strike first. Even if you are the one to receive the contract, draft something up and send to your counter point. When drafting your version always ask for more than you want. This puts them in a reactive spot yielding to greater potential returns. Other points:

  • Don’t forfeit your asks during negotiations, trade instead 
  • Set a large anchor when asking for something
  • Emphasize what you gave up for them when making your trade
  • Have false emphasis points that you are willing to concede. This grouped with the third bullet showcases what you’re willing to give up to make the deal work 
  • Plan for the negotiation. Walk through the different possibilities prior to the negotiation so you know your anchors and concession points before
  • State value you add, current problems you face, then how you want to solve for it. This is where you make your asks. Let it sit in and don’t be afraid of silence

Tracking

To start this with a necessary cliche, the journey to the seven is as important as skiing the seven. As I go through an interesting journey leaving my comfortable high paying job to give the startup life a go, my brother encouraged me to capture the experience. So here I am writing my first post about where I spend the majority of my time, not skiing.

In the coming posts, I’ll be back tracking over the last six months and then eventually get to real-time updates. If anyone actually reads this, don’t mind the grammar or flow of the posts. Looking to only write my ideas quickly. All the people and companies I write about will also remain anonymous at this time.