Mladen D. Kresic is President and Chief Executive of K&R Negotiations, a consulting firm specializing in structuring and negotiating business transactions in the computer, software, Internet and other industries. Mladen has over 31 years experience negotiating business transactions both as a lawyer and a businessman.
We once assisted a Japanese client company (we can call them “Friendly”) in negotiating a strategic alliance with an American company (whom we will call “Abrasive”) that had a reputation for being challenging. Prior to our meeting, we contacted a colleague who had done business with Abrasive. Our friend warned us that the lead negotiator […]
Negotiating seminars often come at a price. For businesspeople who want a quick foundational primer on best practices without attending negotiation classes, K&R Negotiations now offers a complimentary, one-hour video – a negotiation seminar in a box. The video features a talk conducted by K&R Negotiations CEO Mladen Kresic, whose firm has helped companies across […]
This is the ninth post in a series entitled: The Principles of International Negotiation: Finding Universal Value in a Complex World Every term in contracts and negotiations should be of some value. And each term has an associated cost. As a negotiator, knowing the rationale for a term enables you to articulate the value and […]
I often ask people, “Who are the best negotiators in the world?” The most common answer is, “Children.” Yet, children have never been trained in negotiations (certainly not by us). What makes them such naturally effective negotiators? There are a number of answers to that question. For example, children use tactics of emotional blackmail (screaming […]
Knowing how people are measured for bonuses, rankings, commissions or promotions helps you determine the personal motivations that can be just as important as company position when it comes to closing the deal. Simply making someone’s job easier can be a major motivation. Here’s a software negotiation story from the K&R files: It was the […]
This is the eighth post in a series entitled: The Principles of International Negotiation: Finding Universal Value in a Complex World If you are skillful in building a good negotiation process, your negotiations with your client should never end because you’ll be doing repeat business. If negotiations are a building block for successful relationships, then […]
Often, successful sales negotiations rest on preparation. How do you go from hard work to successful outcomes? What’s the actual process? It’s preparation. Preparation means always gathering information to gain an understanding of the motivations and objectives of the other side as well as our own. Without this understanding, we’re merely guessing at the terms […]
A critical aspect of successful negotiation is the art of principled concessions – the ability to induce changes in position from the other side using a persuasive, value-based rationale. Not only does this preserve credibility, but the other side feels good about exchanges made in this manner. We cover this principle in some depth […]
All negotiators should build a value case for the positions they would like the other side to accept. As a buyer, you would like the seller to understand the value of doing business with you because, for example, you are a flagship account and a reliable customer who pays on time. As a seller, […]
This is the seventh post in a series entitled: The Principles of International Negotiation: Finding Universal Value in a Complex World It’s a worldwide phenomenon: You’re on vacation in a foreign country and decide to buy a souvenir. You know you shouldn’t pay the price they’re asking, so you make a lower offer on that […]
