A Winner’s Guide to Negotiating

Molly Fletcher knows how to get what she wants. She outlines the negotiation system she developed over a two-decade career as a professional sports agent and draws some of her examples from the world of sports. Her approach to getting your way in five major negotiating steps – prepare, “find common ground,” “ask confidently,” use pauses effectively and “know when to leave” – requires self-assurance. She describes how she persuades strangers to change seats with her family on airplanes and how she gets the Ritz to offer her free wine. However, when asking for free wine, the worst outcome is not getting any. When you’re negotiating for your dream job, however, risk taking requires guts because you have something to lose. Even if you don’t share Fletcher’s confidence, her system describes generally effective tactics and goals, so getAbstract recommends her method to anyone who has to build the skills to negotiate successfully.