Communicating Across Time Horizons

There was a time in my life when I sold life insurance. Well, to be frank, I tried to sell life insurance. With little success.

And while I didn't sell any insurance, I did learn a thing or two, and I'd like to explore one of them with you today - time horizons.

Some of the prospective policyholders I met could visualize themselves well into the future, say 20 or 30 years into the future. They were obviously good prospects for life insurance. Others focused more on the coming year or few years. To them, something that might or might not happen 20 years ahead was a pure abstraction with little relevance.

Now, let's put these perspectives into a communication context: When you send or receive messages, do you factor in the time horizon of the person who sent you a message or gets one from you?

Let's consider an example that's similar to my experience. Say you're trying to sell mutual funds to a new investor. You enthusiastically point out the possibility of getting rich by saving every month for perhaps 25 years. But the person across the desk looks at you with a blank face. Perhaps he's thinking to himself that the money could be used to pay down the loan on his truck in three years instead of five, and then he could buy a new one much sooner.

Or, consider the time horizons that involve communication between managers and the people who report to them. Generally speaking, the higher you are in a hierarchy, the further ahead you're expected to look and anticipate.

So, how do you handle messages to people who have different time horizons than you? First, be aware of the possibility that they may exist. Ask a few probing questions that help you find differences.

Second, use visualizations that help others imagine the future, and how they'll fit into that picture. For example, companies that sell retirement packages spend a lot of money trying to get us to imagine ourselves basking in luxury on a tropical beach.

Third, don't just talk about that future time in an abstract way. Personalize it by explaining how it will affect the person you're addressing. Give that person a stake in the future you foresee.

Fourth, get to that future time in steps, not in one big jump. Don't ask a 25 year old to visualize where she'll be at age 65. Instead, talk to her about the typical life styles at ages 35, 45, 55, and 65.

Finally, put the processes into reverse if someone else asks you to visualize a time horizon that's unfamiliar. Ask yourself what kind of assumptions and visions he brings to his scenario, and adjust accordingly.

In summary, different time horizons can be a barrier to good communication. To overcome these potential barriers you start by first recognizing the possibility of their existence. If they do exist you can use visualization, personalization, and a series of time steps rather than one big jump.

Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott's Communication Letter. Learn how you can use communication to help achieve your goals, by reading articles or subscribing to this ad-supported newsletter. An excellent resource for leaders and managers, at:http://www.communication-newsletter.com

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Bush#39;s North Korea Surrender Will Have Lasting Consequences - Wall Street Journal

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0i-0fd=Rurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7642720.stmcid=1255842506ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNFhHeSleOqfeV3sT0mTl58nkAo_HAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=2-xEafzIbdgJimgurl=newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44958000/jpg/_44958593_researcher_b226_ap.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2BBC News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122385733887027383.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsjcid=1255842506ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNHiNOJEETUkT1Rp2O_IX-8UhN1jKABush#39;s North Korea Surrender Will Have Lasting Consequences/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWall Street Journalnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Delisting the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a terrorist sponsor represents a classic case of prizing the bnegotiation/b process over substance b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D9RGwy4OTm6Ycid=1255842506ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNHwITw8A3nQrwIK8AwfKNjzl82OnQVideo: N. Korea Off Terror Blacklist With Nuke Deal/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/9RGwy4OTm6Y/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/9RGwy4OTm6Ytype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-2fd=Rurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7662686.stmcid=1255842506ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNHIJG8enpHz1SKtgW2yCKS4_PITYw#39;US-N Korea nuclear deal close#39;/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBBC News/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-3fd=Rurl=http://www.examiner.com/x-243-Progressive-Politics-Examiner~y2008m10d11-North-Korea-removed-from-terror-listcid=1255842506ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNGAepbyV92gLzfRqwfKvHPmarnJvQNorth Korea removed from terror list/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrExaminer.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-4fd=Rurl=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff%3D/c/a/2008/10/12/MNN013FHV9.DTLcid=1255842506ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNFCymiwWeXZvyGHA5NjJmA7kugaUwnobrSan Francisco Chronicle/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-5fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/10/korea-weaponstechnologycid=1255842506ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNEquSN7ZK8zVP9Y14Nh_8zQjXb7UQnobrGuardian Unlimited/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1255842506hl=ennobrall 3,347 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Citi Ends Negotiation with Wells Fargo on Wachovia Transaction - WELT ONLINE

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1i-0fd=Rurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7654499.stmcid=1255363795ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNFuXngF-wIRkSrPCd4jKr3jUyRsBQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=egYyNxNAuDoJimgurl=newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45075000/jpg/_45075381_fe91be7a-1324-4e3b-aae5-d4b6b0ab014f.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2BBC News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://newsticker.welt.de/index.php%3Fchannel%3Dfin%26module%3Dsmarthouse%26id%3D791689cid=1255363795ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNGeQamajqowcuM5dw0JXhVeLSNeIQCiti Ends bNegotiation/b with Wells Fargo on Wachovia Transaction/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fWELT ONLINE,nbsp;Germanynbsp;-/font nobrOct 9, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Citi announced today that it had reached no agreement with Wells Fargo following several days of discussions about matters related to Wachovia. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DMERD6PuBHHccid=1255363795ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNGOyazfEBE_M7dyO2_qOhzizoianAVideo: Fed Board Approves Wells Fargo#39;s Wachovia Buy/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/MERD6PuBHHc/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/MERD6PuBHHctype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-2fd=Rurl=http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/half-time-lessons-from-the-battle-for-wachovia/cid=1255363795ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNGF3fB9-Px2WqNg3YFTIDLcT85APQHalf-Time Lessons From the Battle for Wachovia/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNew York Times Blogs/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-3fd=Rurl=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jjz5Hb-Nmj1z9ke5S6hdsfGtSf1AD93MK85O0cid=1255363795ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNGS48ZEoPmKnBVTadOMCsN4BYkelAFed works toward an agreement on Wachovia/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-4fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601103%26sid%3DaelpxtXunWgk%26refer%3Duscid=1255363795ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNGNzxfhhSoKhVkpn-j4be_o_z96IAnobrBloomberg/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-5fd=Rurl=http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/oct/09/091740/citigroup-says-it-will-quit-its-fight-wachovia/news/cid=1255363795ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNFtXMZhLw7yWS4AQbKdHxePVx58ygnobrWinston-Salem Journal/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1255363795hl=ennobrall 3,542 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Talking To The Taliban - Times of India

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html%3Fid%3D866639cid=1254902146ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNFMTyKF0UIxE6Z_MjcLzNvI2NdM1wimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=ZRTy-2aR-WIJimgurl=a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/www.nationalpost.com/news/world/866640.bin%3Fsize%3D404x272 width=80 height=54 alt= border=1brfont size=-2National Post/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-0fd=Rurl=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Editorial/Talking_To_The_Taliban/articleshow/3582101.cmscid=1254902146ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNEeqorRIVV0b6mx1y4nVXdpzCurigTalking To The Taliban/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTimes of India,nbsp;Indianbsp;-/font nobrOct 10, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Pakistani parliament has held an in-camera joint session and news comes in of a bnegotiation/b between the Taliban and the Hamid Karzai regime mediated by b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-1fd=Rurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/07/afghanistan.middleeastcid=1254902146ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNFTv1AQ6PIdyz5ZPjzdXy4kmINUggTalking to the Taliban – yet again/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrguardian.co.uk/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-2fd=Rurl=http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp%3Fsection%3D1%26id%3D14378cid=1254902146ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNETpylbOwrSGuXgaAGxDzj3h-XyOwEx-Pakistani PM Seeks Role in Afghani Peace Talks/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAsharq Alawsat/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-3fd=Rurl=http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm%3Fstory_id%3D12380962cid=1254902146ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNFfm5hNTemkhxOP_9dyukJ18zQQdwCan it make peace in the wider region?/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrEconomist/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-4fd=Rurl=http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx%3Fdtlid%3D186237%26catid%3D11cid=1254902146ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNGtK9s2nXNT5QhMcWzhwDeKL3TJCwnobrThe Post/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-5fd=Rurl=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/secret-saudi-dinner-karzais-brother-and-the-taliban-955243.htmlcid=1254902146ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNHvt44DdMjT2n0N3MnUSU1ea3W2iAnobrIndependent/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254902146hl=ennobrall 582 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Nearly As Far-Fetched As The Maverick Lie -- Negotiation Preconditions - Huffington Post

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-reardon/nearly-as-far-fetched-as_b_132321.htmlcid=1256755934ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNFs_GGlWDVG5kRNvcand1IaPR8PhwNearly As Far-Fetched As The Maverick Lie -- bNegotiation/b Preconditions/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fHuffington Post,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobrOct 6, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1First, it#39;s either naive or a fabrication when McCain suggests Obama will suddenly pop up at a bnegotiation/b with the leadership of Iran. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

East Africa: MPs Want Region to Turn Away From EU - AllAfrica.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://allafrica.com/stories/200810130185.htmlcid=1257226610ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNH8O7i-58PS_CCYKgIw5S4F-yfT5gEast Africa: MPs Want Region to Turn Away From EU/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fAllAfrica.com,nbsp;Washingtonnbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Addressing the Kigali seminar, Dr Mangeni said: quot;Under the ongoing bnegotiation/b of EPAs, the EU negotiators remained tough and stubborn, almost replicas of b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Rudd to use surplus to battle slump - The Australian

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24486160-5013871,00.htmlcid=1257060914ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNHFbGrMIM68iVjufRa_ZVhLGtT3QQRudd to use surplus to battle slump/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fThe Australian,nbsp;Australianbsp;-/font nobr23 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Mr Rudd said yesterday the financial crisis meant he was facing a more difficult bnegotiation/b with the states over the funding deals. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Iran’s letter to Solana shows dissatisfaction with 5+1 - Tehran Times

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx%3Fid%3D71742%26sectionid%3D351020104cid=1256627860ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNHiZD-LCwn918T7gLx6J5B87tWdNQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=Lp2tOXX93Q8Jimgurl=www.presstv.ir/photo/20081009/Mirvarzandeh20081009213739843.jpg width=80 height=54 alt= border=1brfont size=-2PRESS TV/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp%3Fcode%3D179753cid=1256627860ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNFq9NxlrezRt7NbBV4faWCfQfrlggIran’s letter to Solana shows dissatisfaction with 5+1/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTehran Times,nbsp;Irannbsp;-/font nobrOct 11, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The first response was that Iran was accused of being angry and not inclined to bnegotiation/b, whereas the main point of this letter was an invitation to b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-1fd=Rurl=http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp%3Fcode%3D179678cid=1256627860ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNHrP-5Aei4A9kfe-77Gn1CxDRp8rQMoscow lauds Jalili’s letter to 5+1/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrTehran Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-2fd=Rurl=http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp%3Fcode%3D179762cid=1256627860ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNGSJqwTtddd5WYgV-EM2fnDpwNTjgJalili#39;s letter to Solana circulated as UN Security Council document/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrTehran Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1256627860hl=ennobrall 14 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Preconditions do not work; try #39;preparations#39; - The Free Lance-Star

San Francisco lawyer David Newdorf won a $3.4 million attorneys ... - PR Web (press release)

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://www.prweb.com/releases/NewdorfLegal/SanFran/prweb1463944.htmcid=1257194657ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNEro_Z-jBd31Tily80zimuJGb-fkwSan Francisco lawyer David Newdorf won a $3.4 million attorneys b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fPR Web (press release),nbsp;WAnbsp;-/font nobr4 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Exclusive bNegotiation/b Agreement between Airis and the City required the loser in any lawsuit concerning the agreement to pay reasonable costs and b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

The Short Sale Formula Launched to Help Real Estate Investors ... - PR Web (press release)

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.prweb.com/releases/outsourceshortsales/shortsaleformula/prweb1431994.htmcid=1257188797ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNEK6-caFc1_kcA_28J5KaKYjsBvyQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=E5fG3VEd68MJimgurl=www.prweb.com/prfiles/2008/10/06/219405/gI_SSFHeader.PNG.jpg width=80 height=32 alt= border=1brfont size=-2PR Web (press release)/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://www.prweb.com/releases/outsourceshortsales/shortsaleformula/prweb1431994.htmcid=1257188797ei=ZEPzSM7ODInK8ATVjJyIAQusg=AFQjCNEK6-caFc1_kcA_28J5KaKYjsBvyQThe Short Sale Formula Launched to Help Real Estate Investors b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fPR Web (press release),nbsp;WAnbsp;-/font nobr5 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;This is the first short sale training that shows you exactly how to put together a short sale packet for successful bnegotiation/b as well as how to close and b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Negotiation - Google News

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Consultants who offer executive assistant or computer services on a virtual basis must know their value and be prepared to gauge their billable rate to meet the circumstances.At some point everyone encounters potential clients who expect professional work at rates that are less than appropriate.

Neogtiation: How to be Right Without Making Other People Wrong
What exactly are we trying to accomplish by proving to others that we're right? We might win the argument but ultimately lose the relationship. Perhaps a better, deeper-rooted question is this: Why do we lose sight of success, of our big objective, when we feel challenged or intimidated?When I prepare to negotiate, provide a service or turn my employees' talent into performance, I know deep down that if I make people feel valuable they will see my input as having value.

30 Tips for Keeping Meeting Expenses to a Minimum
Money makes the world go 'round. And when it comes to meeting planning, money can probably get you whatever you want.

Secrets of the Trade Revealed: Bartering for Business
In its simplest form, bartering involves an equal trade. One business swaps a good or service for another.

Games are a Reflection of Behavior
You are standing on a small stage yelling, "What's the name of the game?!""Win as much as you can!!!" comes roaring back."Who's responsible for your score?!""I am!!"The audience is composed of ninety men, all prisoners in a federal maximum security prison.

The Six Rs for Changing MInds and Overcoming Resistance
This article borrows from Howard Gardner's book, "Changing Minds" (2004). In order to get people in conflict to cooperate or collaborate sufficiently to settle or resolve their differences, and perhaps achieve reconciliation, it is necessary that they change their minds.

Negotiations: The Art, Science, & Sport of Online Deals
Negotiations can seem as complex as physics, and in fact, people go to college to study the science of negotiating just as they would the laws of nature. At the same time, negotiation is like an ancient art form, some sort of Zen mental jujitsu.

The Most Powerful Persuasion Skill Youll Ever Learn
Criteria ElicitationThis is without a doubt the most important persuasion skill that you can learn. If you'll learn to apply this to every situation in which you find yourself you'll be amazed at the positive results! Many of the hypnotic skills I'll be sharing with you have a parallel in old sales training techniques.

Negotiating Skills: Ask For More Than You Expect To Get
It creates some negotiating room, and you might just get what you're asking for.Whether playing the role of buyer or seller in a sales transaction, asking for more than you expect to get is a classic opening position in negotiations.

Negotiating Tactics: Don't Let 'Good Guy - Bad Guy' Control the Sales Negotiation
Counter one of the classic negotiating gambits by addressing it directly.You've assembled a brilliant sales proposal for a new client and when you arrive to the meeting to hammer out the final details, you suddenly find yourself sitting across the table negotiating with two people.

Four Ways To Work Out Business Disputes
Business owners have four options to resolve disputes with partners, vendors or customers. Each option is based on different assumptions, and entails a different cost.

While Youre Waiting
Not long ago, I made a partnership pitch, on behalf of an organization I represent, to another organization with similar interests. If the idea had come to fruition, it would have radically changed our organization.

So Whats Your Argument?
Arguments aren't always bad things. Sometimes They're used to convince someone of an important point they may not yet realize.

Can a Service Be a Commodity
Well Enron dealt with this a little for instance an intangible such as the available bandwidth in fiber optic lines. So what is a commodity in a service business? Well, a commodity could be considered are capacity to wash cars for a mobile car wash business like the company I own, the additionally created capacity coming from increased efficiency in studying production rates.