Westerners on the whole are pretty lousy negotiators, not because they’re incapable of being good negotiators, but because the vast majority of them have never truly negotiated a multitude or variety of things outside of a car, house, or salary.
In America, consumers go to the grocery store and prices are static/set/non-negotiable. The negotiation muscle isn’t being worked.
Most of the American books I’ve read on negotiation are a disservice to anyone trying to negotiate prices and consist of pretty hit or miss tactics like quoting an extra high price or never saying a number.
I *think* great negotiation is based on the fear of missing out, urgency, data arbitrage, experience fragmentation, perceived value, perceived notion of competition, a desire to be draconian, existential pain, grit, stoic capability, ROI leverage, acquired philosophical alignment, and non-existential-threatening deception.
The best negotiators I’ve met in the USA have distinctively been 2nd generation Americans/Immigrants and people who sell art/music, but they also workout their negotiation muscles weekly on increasingly larger ticket items.
For low-life-time value deals and low alignment, I know I’ve failed if they’re still smiling at the end.
Read the latest blog post on marketing, the macro, and tech.