Negotiation Practices In Marketing

She grilled me for 90 minutes. Argued on price, terms, and payment. Then signed a $120K deal the next day. The negotiation call was scheduled for 30 minutes. It lasted 97. Our first deal of the quarter, and it was going terribly. The VP challenged everything: – Demanded 90-day payment terms when we needed 30 – Pushed for a 22% discount on already-tight pricing – Questioned our data retention periods line by line – Asked for custom SLAs we'd never offered before My palms were sweating. At one point, she said: "This is simply too expensive for what you're offering." I almost caved. Almost offered that extra discount. Instead, I took a breath and asked: "Can you help me understand what specifically your team is trying to build?" What followed was a 40-minute deep dive into their actual problems. The real cost of missed insights in their customer calls. The manual work their team was doing. The tone completely shifted. She ended with: "Let me think about this overnight." I was sure we'd lost it. But at 6:42 AM the next day, the signed contract hit my inbox. With a note: "Thanks for taking the time yesterday. Your team clearly understands our challenges." One year later, they've renewed twice and expanded to a $340K account. That day changed how I view "difficult" negotiations: When someone pushes this hard, they're not trying to kill the deal. They're trying to make it work so that they can buy. Now when negotiations get tough, I see it for what it really is: Not resistance. Commitment. What's a deal you thought you were losing... that became your best customer?

"Hey! Help me understand how you got to that number?" has been super helpful when doing creator negotiations. It can sometimes be the wild west out there, and you will hear ranges from $1,000 to $10,000 for similar size-, vertical-, engagement-sized creators. Whenever I get to this point, I openly ask them how they got there. This is an opportunity for us to discuss where we may be off. Some key examples I have seen: 1. "This is what brand X just paid me last time." 2. "I am expecting X views." 3. "The industry rate is X." 4. "This is just what I charge." When handling each of these conversations, starting off with empathy to validate, not endorse their feelings is key. For example, "Thank you for sharing, and I can see how you got to that point." This is not agreeing with them, but showing that you are stepping into their perspective, validates their feelings, and helps get on the same level. You have to truly mean that, however, and understand where they come from. Don't just say it. Next, I would handle each scenario with (in the order above): 1. "From time to time, you may have a big one-off spend, which is awesome! Given the historical context of this brand, these types of deliverables, and what we have paid creators similar to your channel, this is rate more in line with what the data has shown". This shows that they may have had luck before, but this shouldn't be their standard. 2. "Taking a look at your channel, I can see that your historical average is X and based on our AI model, we are also forecasting Y. Knowing that sponsored material doesn't do as well, can we align that we will most likely hit Z?". If that doesn't work, you can do "If you are open to a tiered payment structure if you hit X, Y, or Z, we can pay you in these increments." This gives the data as to what you think will happen and also a healthy solution if they do really well. 3. "Based on the historical data of the wide range of creators we have worked with of your similar size, we have historically seen X. We would love to pay you Y, but it may not fit into our budgets right now. Could you make X work?". You are not being dismissive of their ask, kindly educating with the data, and working to find that solution. 4. "For this campaign and budget, we can only offer X. We would love to have you on, but if this doesn't work out, we totally understand." Here you are being real with them and now the ball is in their court. TLDR: Communication is key here, and transparency builds trust and relationships. And, be ok to walk away! There are certainly some very selective, niche, and exclusive creators where you may have to take a risk, but there is a pretty large sea and you may need to cast a larger net. These are not "tactics" to take advantage of creators, but have data-driven conversations and finding an area that is fair for everyone! It's important for both sides to understand each other here. Let me know your thoughts! Am I off? What am I missing here?

The Year Amazon Declares Price Leadership - What Vendors Need to Know👇 While Amazon often prides itself as a price follower in vendor negotiations, its recent press release sheds light on quite the opposite: "𝙎𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘼𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙐𝙎 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙨." – 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 1P brands should take note of this press release, as Vendor Managers often point fingers at Amazon's price-following strategy when justifying their margin demands. Amazon now appears to be playing a two-sided game: It wants brands to fund price-leading discounts. All while demanding compensation whenever Amazon matches the prices of other retailers. If you're a 1P vendor, this puts your margins in a tough spot. And requires you to change your approach to vendor negotiations. How? By following this 3-step formula: 𝟭- 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 While Amazon wants you to list your entire portfolio, this strategy is rarely profitable. If you list products that you know will be sold by discounters, chances are you create a race to the bottom. Instead, you want to forecast the margin impact of any new listing. Ask yourself: Will listing this product stabilise, drive, or dilute your account margins? If you don't know the answer, you should defer the launch of products with Amazon until you see their ASP reflected in the market segment. 𝟮- 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹-𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 Vendor Managers will ask you for three different investment types: 1- Trade investments during AVNs 2- Funding for deals/price promotions 3- Cost support agreements to stabilise Net PPM Knowing that VMs will approach you with investment requests at least 3-6 per year, ensure you account for these negotiation cycles. Don't make 100% of your available budgets part of your annual vendor negotiations. Instead, withhold part of your budget to be able to cater to Amazon's funding needs for deals and to avoid CRAP. 𝟯- 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 Price promotions are a strategic vehicle for Amazon to lead in price. This means that you must limit your exposure to these deal events. Otherwise, you'll likely create negative price dynamics that disrupt your relationship with other retailers. So make sure you prioritise tier 1 deal events like PD or BFCM, but avoid "always-on" deals that will only dilute your brand positioning. --- What do you think? Should we still treat Amazon as a price follower, or is it time to think of Amazon as a price leader? Let me know in the comments! #amazonvendor #amazonstrategy

Negotiations don’t go wrong—they start wrong. Through my experience, I can often tell within the first 30 minutes whether a negotiation will take a collaborative or positional direction. The early signals—the tone, structure, and mindset of the parties—set the course for either value creation or value extraction. Too often, negotiations begin with adversarial positioning, where each side stakes out demands, focuses on "winning," and sees concessions as the primary path to agreement. This zero-sum mentality is where most negotiations start wrong. The problem isn’t what happens later—it’s how we approach the process from the outset. Do you negotiate how to negotiate before you start negotiating? This is a game-changer. Before discussing numbers or terms, set the stage for success. Consider opening with: "I am here today to help you reduce your risk, cost, and liabilities while improving your profits. Would you be interested in having me assist you with this?" This shifts the conversation from position-based bargaining to problem-solving and mutual value creation. SMARTnership® negotiation flips the traditional approach. Instead of defaulting to competitive bargaining, it starts by identifying asymmetric values, trust currency, and hidden gains that can turn the negotiation into a collaborative value-maximizing process. The real difference lies in: ✔ Mindset: Are we here to protect our own turf or explore mutual benefit?  ✔ Communication: Is the focus on claiming or creating value?  ✔ Trust: Is there openness to share real needs, costs, and priorities? If the first 30 minutes are spent staking positions, debating individual gains, or withholding critical information, the negotiation is already off track. But if we establish transparency, mutual benefit, and creative problem-solving early on, we unlock the hidden potential of the deal. Next time you step into a negotiation, ask yourself: Are we starting right? #Negotiation #SMARTnership #ValueCreation #TrustCurrency Tarek Amine Tine Anneberg Francis Goh, FSIArb, FCIArb Francisco Cosme Gražvydas Jukna Juan Manuel García P. Darryl Legault World Commerce & Contracting BMI Executive Institute #negotiationtraining Daniel McLuskie

I’ve negotiated multi-multi-million dollar deals, and here are 5 things I’ve learned: Negotiation doesn't start when you sit down—it starts way earlier. 1: Before you even start… • Figure out what they actually need from you (and what pressures they're under-budget deadlines, approval hoops, whatever) • Know your walk-away number and your "stretch" ask • Identify a few trade-offs you can give that cost you nothing but feel valuable to them 2: Stop thinking yes/no It's not just "I win" or "I lose." Sometimes you win on price but give up rights. Or you take less cash but get equity or control of your work. Or you play it safe now so you can land a bigger deal later. You're not looking for one win — you're building a package of wins. 3: Money's not the only chip If they're stuck on price, move the conversation. Ask for: • Shorter exclusivity • Faster payment terms • Performance bonuses • Rights to reuse or resell your work Get creative. Sometimes the best part of a deal isn't the check. 4: Get intel they don't know you have Don't just Google "average rates." Find out: • What they've paid for similar work before • Who inside the company is your biggest fan • What competitor they really don't want you working with That's leverage you can actually use. 5: Price is a signal If you price too low, people assume you're inexperienced, in low demand, or a headache later. Set a number that says, "I'm good at this, and you're lucky to get me" — and then deliver so it feels like a bargain. What's your best negotiation tip?

I used to think negotiating came down to one thing:   Getting the best price.   Push harder. Trim the fat. Ask for discounts.   And if I got 25% off the vendor’s first offer, I’d walk away thinking I nailed it.   But with time (and a few painful lessons), I learned:   Some of the worst deals I’ve seen looked great… on paper.   Here are 4 mistakes I’ve made (and still see far too often):   1) Focusing too much on price, not enough on value.   A lower price doesn’t always mean a better deal.   It often comes with trade-offs:   - Reduced service - Slower delivery - Fewer resources when you need them most.   Instead of asking, “How cheap can we get this?”   I now ask, “What would a successful outcome really look like for us?”   2) Overlooking long-term relationships   We tend to see suppliers as interchangeable: a name in a contract.   But that mindset costs us.   Suppliers who trust us often go above and beyond during emergencies, speed bumps, or when we need a favor.   That goodwill isn’t in the contract. But it matters more than we realize.   3) Starting negotiations too late   This one’s brutal.   You wait until the contract’s up, thinking,   “We’ll just renew and tweak a few things.”   By then, your options are gone. And the vendor knows it.   Real leverage comes from starting 12–18 months early. Before you're backed into a corner.   4) Measuring success by how big the discount was   This one gets all of us. A 30% discount feels like a win, but off of what?   Vendors can anchor high and discount later.   A good deal isn’t defined by how much you shaved off.   It’s defined by how well it meets your goals, how it stacks up to Plan B, and how it compares to real benchmarks.     These lessons weren’t obvious when I started.   They came through mistakes, second-guessing, and sometimes, bad outcomes.   But once you see them... You can’t unsee them.   P.S. Let me know which one you're guilty of the most.   ------------- Hi, I’m Scott Harrison and I help executive and leaders master negotiation & communication in high-pressure, high-stakes situations.  - ICF Coach and EQ-i Practitioner - 24 yrs | 44 countries | 150+ clients   - Negotiation | Conflict resolution | Closing deals 📩 DM me or book a discovery call (link in the Featured section)

It’s crunch time for AEs. Here's my #1 negotiation tip to help bring your deals over the finish line in Q4: Always confirm that they want to move forward with your solution before offering incentives or discounts!!! This may seem obvious, but WAY too many sellers offer Q4 incentives as a way to close the deal before validating that the customer is ready to move forward! They may still have unspoken concerns, such as technical fit, implementation support, timing, or higher priorities. If you try to negotiate before addressing these concerns, you are simply negotiating against yourself. Even if they mention price as a concern, you still need to validate that it’s their ONLY concern before negotiating. Here’s a great question to ask before ever offering an incentive or discount: “Before we discuss any Q4 incentives, I just want to confirm that you are ready to move forward and have no other questions or concerns we should address besides pricing.” If you get their confirmation, then ask about their pricing concerns before sharing what you can offer. You need to make sure your incentive is mapped directly to their concerns. For example, if their concern revolves around the contract length, you can offer to provide them with the 60 month rate on a 36 months term if they move forward this month. If their concern is around cash flow, you may be able to offer semi-annual or quarterly billing. If their concern is about license or consumption commitment, you may be able to do a ramp plan. The main point is that you need to make sure PRICE or COMMERCIALS are the only concern before you negotiate or offer anything. And always, always making sure you are negotiating directly with the decision maker who can say yes. Otherwise, your incentives will likely miss the mark. P.S. I just released a FREE COURSE to help you close more large deals in 2025. It’s called Fundamentals of Elite Tech Sales. You can get it here: https://lnkd.in/ghHvbgyS

“Just brush it under the carpet!” Do that, and you’ll see your organisation turn into an Ekta Kapoor TV serial, where everyone gossips about each other behind their back! Avoiding conflict might feel peaceful in the moment, but make no mistake... it builds frustration and creates invisible walls within the team, and that leads to gossip, groupism, politics, and at the end of it all, the business suffers. The right way to deal with conflict is to address it and have a mature conversation. Here’s how you do that: Step 1: Root Cause Analysis Dig deeper. Understand the situation. Ask each person why they feel the conflict started. The best way to do this is to use the ‘5 Whys’ technique. Ask “Why?” five times. Example: A & B are arguing over who’s at fault for a delayed project. Ask: 1) Why do you think the project got delayed? → B didn’t send the file on time. 2) Why didn’t B send the file on time? → The client delayed the project update. 3) Why was the update delayed? → Because C delayed the MVP delivery to the client. 4) Why did C delay it? → Because the timeline wasn’t documented, so everything was in the air. By the 4th “Why,” you realise: A & B are fighting over blame, but the real issue is the lack of a formal documentation process like CRM updates or email records. Step 2: Have a 1-on-1 Conversation Talk to each person privately. Just listen, without judgement. Listen not to respond, but to understand. This helps defuse emotions before the joint discussion. Step 3: Act as a Mediator Don’t be a ringmaster - be a mediator. Bring all parties together and facilitate the conversation. Don’t lecture or dictate. Focus on finding the solution, not figuring out who’s right. Step 4: Win-Win Solution Encourage them to find a resolution where all parties win, by solving the real problem together. Step 5: Action Steps & Follow-Up Close the conversation with clear next steps on the process and workflow going forward. Follow up after a few weeks to check if the solution is working. Share this with your network and help a business owner resolve team conflicts the right way.

I used to hate negotiating… Until this one perspective shift allowed me to form stronger, more mutually beneficial partnerships 👇 Realizing that good negotiations aren't about winning or losing. They're about building trust and finding ways both sides can win. How do you do that? ✔️ Listen more than you speak. Understanding their needs and priorities is the best way to determine if the partnership is a good fit for both. ✔️ Communicate your value proposition clearly. Lay down what you bring to the table and how it benefits the other party. ✔️ Ask open-ended, insightful questions. Avoid the “are you…” or “do you…” questions, and ask how/why instead. This gives the other party more runway to share their thoughts. ✔️ Reframe the conversation to focus on shared goals. Shift the focus from “what I want” to “what we can achieve together.” The best deals I've made came from having genuine conversations with the other person. 

Protecting creators is more important than ever. The creator economy is one of the few industries in entertainment where most deals are negotiated between 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴. That means contract terms, usage rights, exclusivity, and IP ownership are often decided without professional guidance and creators pay the price. I saw it firsthand. As a 14-year-old aspiring content creator, I watched creators around me get taken advantage of. And to be honest, not much has changed. But here’s what is changing: we’re finally starting to recognize that creators are businesses. I’ve been saying this for 8+ years, but ageism has held back real change. Too many traditional companies still view creators as trends instead of entrepreneurs. They only see the platforms (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Meta, X, Snap Inc.) not the humans building scalable brands behind the screen. Thankfully, we’re seeing the rise of a new kind of expert: the creator economy lawyer. These are the people fighting to make sure creators do not get locked into contracts that feel more like indentured servitude than partnerships. 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 (𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞): ✨ Tyler Chou: People forget to ask how to get out of a contract. There should be a simple termination for convenience clause, but it’s often missing. ✨ Chelsey Mori: Clearly define what a rep does and does not earn commission on. Include a sunset clause, termination rights, and even a key person clause if your main contact leaves. ✨ Frank Poe: Understand where and how your content will be used. Limit licensing terms. Make them nontransferable and define the scope clearly. ✨ Merlyne Jean-Louis: Lawyers protect your ABCs — assets, brand, and content — which reduces risk and makes you more attractive to brands and investors. ✨ Kayla Morán: A creator becomes a business the moment they generate revenue. But without tracking income, expenses, and unpaid invoices, they leave themselves exposed. I don’t trust every lawyer, but these lawyers? I do (also shoutout Matthew Dysart who didn't send his quote in time). The bottom line: creators need to protect their work. Their IP. Their brand. Their business. From day one.