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Negotiating With Giants
Helps smaller players to get what they want in their personal lives - whether they are dealing with huge companies, unresponsive governments, or towering individuals. This guide shows how readers can gain the upper hand in a variety of situations: debating with a powerful co-worker, getting the best deal from an insurance company, and more.
- GenresBusiness
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 2, 2008
97 people are currently reading
1215 people want to read
About the author
Peter D. Johnston
3 books75 followersPETER D. JOHNSTON is an internationally renowned negotiation expert and the bestselling author of Negotiating with Giants (nonfiction). His expertise—which has been formally recognized by the US Government for its positive impact—is sought worldwide by individuals and organizations. A former journalist and investment banker, he is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, and has been interviewed by CNN, ABC, FOX, The Wall Street Journal, The Globe and Mail and Oprah & Friends.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 26, 2021
I’m a startup founder who has done a lot of enterprise sales, and was excited about this book. But it was underwhelming.
Very repetitive, but the main takeaways were:
1. Wait as long as you can before entering negotiations, and use the time before you enter negotiations to a) get your positioning absolutely right, and b) wait until your product/business have improved
2. Focus more on how you can help your customers grow more than how you can help them save costs
3. Be overzealous with your information – don’t reveal more than you have to about how your operations work
4. Research as much as you can before negotiating. Both from the internet, from external sources who have worked with your quarry before, and from employees currently working there
5. Complete a series of small deals before negotiating with giants. This will help you be less dependent on the giant and will strengthen your negotiating position, as well as your ability to walk away if a deal doesn’t pan out
6. Always be willing to walk away from deals – and make that clear to your negotiating partners
7. (Only applicable for exclusive contracts) Always have more than one company bidding for your services – and stall for time when negotiating with the first company
8. Make sure you’re able to capture most of the value you’re creating for your customer. Do this by showing how your solution is depth-first, and better than everything else in your niche, by showcasing your dominance in an industry or geographical niche, and by showcasing its potential for growth (and not just focusing on current profitability)
Very repetitive, but the main takeaways were:
1. Wait as long as you can before entering negotiations, and use the time before you enter negotiations to a) get your positioning absolutely right, and b) wait until your product/business have improved
2. Focus more on how you can help your customers grow more than how you can help them save costs
3. Be overzealous with your information – don’t reveal more than you have to about how your operations work
4. Research as much as you can before negotiating. Both from the internet, from external sources who have worked with your quarry before, and from employees currently working there
5. Complete a series of small deals before negotiating with giants. This will help you be less dependent on the giant and will strengthen your negotiating position, as well as your ability to walk away if a deal doesn’t pan out
6. Always be willing to walk away from deals – and make that clear to your negotiating partners
7. (Only applicable for exclusive contracts) Always have more than one company bidding for your services – and stall for time when negotiating with the first company
8. Make sure you’re able to capture most of the value you’re creating for your customer. Do this by showing how your solution is depth-first, and better than everything else in your niche, by showcasing your dominance in an industry or geographical niche, and by showcasing its potential for growth (and not just focusing on current profitability)
September 22, 2015
Not too shabby. Johnston has written a vibrant yet informative how-to. I'll be better equipped next time I square off against a "giant" in negotiation. At my height, that's pretty much everyone.
Couple notes:
-Blackmail? LOL
-Stand Tall
-Ignore the rules
-Sacrifice your queen
-Form coalitions. Grow the size of your team
-Plan to walk away
-Stick to your word. Even if they're ultimatums.
-Say yes when you mean no. Stall.
-Give choices
-Uncover meaning
Couple notes:
-Blackmail? LOL
-Stand Tall
-Ignore the rules
-Sacrifice your queen
-Form coalitions. Grow the size of your team
-Plan to walk away
-Stick to your word. Even if they're ultimatums.
-Say yes when you mean no. Stall.
-Give choices
-Uncover meaning
June 4, 2020
2019: 20
August 25, 2013
This book is such an interesting mix of great stories with throughout review of practical lesson derived from each and every story. Great read. Thank you!
4 stars because it is a bit too long, and at the end it becoming a bit monotone. Should be as in the story of The Knife Guy : “..this performer varied his tone and pace, always speaking so we could hear him, but pausing for effect….. to keep us on our toes”.
Overall, Great Read, Highly recommending.
4 stars because it is a bit too long, and at the end it becoming a bit monotone. Should be as in the story of The Knife Guy : “..this performer varied his tone and pace, always speaking so we could hear him, but pausing for effect….. to keep us on our toes”.
Overall, Great Read, Highly recommending.
February 1, 2013
Peter Johnston himself taught me the subject of negotiation at the University of Victoria. He is a super great guy. His strategies are so practical and useful. The book could take you to deal with complex negotiations. The book is well written, in an a high level English. However, it is better to have negotiation-knowledge background in order to best utilize the strategies in the book.
October 15, 2014
It's a bit of a long read, but I appreciated all of the real-life case studies about people who negotiated with big companies to get what they wanted. A true David and Goliath book.
March 13, 2016
Interesting anecdotes illustrating the points. Good advice for us Davids who regularly meet Goliath in the field
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews