Mark Raffan

We all make mistakes in negotiations. My big one is pushing too hard too fast. But there are some mistakes that I see reoccur over and over again. These are…

I was going to announce some fairly special news today, but I'm going to save it for later. Instead I'm going to talk about something that generated significant debate among…

I used to have a friend and colleague that used to say, "Half of the getting is in the asking." Can you get something simply by asking? Is it really…

This post was going to be about the simplicity of asking for something but I got all revved up today about a topic that I hold very near and dear…

Americans are some of my favourite people. They're direct, creative, and most importantly, they believe they can always cut a deal (even when they can't - most Americans reading this…

You know what sucks?!? Conceding. But you know what sucks even more than conceding? Conceding more than you have to or should. It may surprise you to find out that…

'Take it or leave it' is rough when you hear it. Really rough. And when you use it, sometimes you can pull it off and sometimes you can't. Obviously if…

ABC - Always Be Closing. It's been the sales war cry and tagline for sales for generations. Sales people always quote a movie like Glengarry Glen Ross and beat their…

Having spent a career in negotiation, managing conflict has become part of my life. I've been on the receiving end of screaming, swearing, and threats of physical violence. Conflict is…

If I could count the amount of times that I've dealt with someone that has gotten caught signing something that they didn't agree to/didn't understand, well....I'd have a big number…