Never Make the First Offer (Except When You Should) Wisdom from a Master Dealmaker [Hardcover]

Donald Dell (Author), John Boswell (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1591842654 | ISBN-13: 978-1591842651

Business and negotiating tactics from a master sports agent

Donald Dell is a legend in professional sports. As one of the first agents to represent athletes, he's been negotiating mega-deals for almost forty years with a hugely successful record on behalf of stars like Arthur Ashe, Michael Jordan, Jimmy Connors, Patrick Ewing, Stan Smith, and Boomer Esiason.

Now Dell shares behind-the-scenes stories of his dealings with some of the most powerful sports owners and executives. He brings the inner workings of the negotiating room to life and offers lessons that readers can apply to their own tough situations. A sample:

? Never make the first offer: You're not seeking an offer at all; you are seeking information.
? Business is emotional: If you are less than genuine people will pick up on it, which is much worse than losing your temper every now and then.
? Know your audience: I finally figured out the key to Jimmy Connors-play to his stubbornness. Don't force Jimmy to do something and he just might do it.
? Decide what's important: Something extremely important to the other side may be trivial to you, in which case you can gain leverage by giving it to them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Legendary sports agent Dell reveals the secrets to successful negotiating in this spellbinding, behind-the-scenes look at deal making in the high stakes world of professional athletics. The treasure trove of practical advice is backed up by mesmerizing tales of the deals Dell closed on behalf of such stars as Arthur Ashe, Michael Jordan, Jimmy Connors and Patrick Ewing. The author drives home simple yet powerful business lessons: he recalls how his negotiation for a new Michael Jordan basketball shoe reached an impasse until Nike exec Peter Moore blurted out a clear concept for a line called Air Jordan, which subsequently became the biggest licensing deal in history; and his own temper cost him a deal signing a promising young tennis star. Sidebars offer advice from athletes, politicians and dealmakers including former senator and Basketball Hall of Fame player Bill Bradley and former senator George Mitchell, who negotiated the Good Friday peace agreement of 1998 in Northern Ireland. Dell reveals that successful deal making requires strong relationships, trust, self-awareness—the very qualities his star clients embody. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Donald Dell is the cofounder of the Association of Tennis Professionals and the founder of ProServ, a leading sports agency that has represented hundreds of star athletes. He is also a former captain of the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team, the founder of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, and a television tennis commentator.

John Boswell has written or cowritten seventeen books including What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover (August 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591842654
• ISBN-13: 978-1591842651
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #695,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, But Not Enlightening, October 6, 2009

By 

Matthew Reinbold "Matthew Reinbold" (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Never Make the First Offer (Except When You Should) Wisdom from a Master Dealmaker (Hardcover)

Donald Dell, when you strip away the celebrity clients and connections to power, is a salesman. It is no surprise, then, that he spends more time in this book selling Donald Dell to the reader then he does a particular technique or practice. To be fair, reading about Jimmy Conner's hissy fits or Michael Jordan's compulsive gambling is entertaining reading. But those looking for negotiation insight would be better served by genre classics like "Getting to Yes" or the more academic "Essentials of Negotiation".

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Starts slowly. Finishes fast., October 5, 2009

By 

The Vet (Nevada County, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Never Make the First Offer (Except When You Should) Wisdom from a Master Dealmaker (Hardcover)

When I began to read this book I was somewhat disappointed. It seemed like a series of short bragging pieces; in essence just a good-ol'-boy puffery item. But I humg in and the short pieces developed a pattern of solid information about the variety of negotiating techniques, problems, and fixes. And even some failures which lent credibility to the author.

The net is that I am well impressed and I am going to send a copy to each of my grown sons who are not active in the sports world but can well benefit from the insights in this book. In fact, most any one can benefit if only from getting a better leg up on how to negotiate a raise or the purchase of a new car.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Priceless Negotiations Guidance From a Master Deal-Maker, October 10, 2009

By 

COUNSEL "PFH" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Never Make the First Offer (Except When You Should) Wisdom from a Master Dealmaker (Hardcover)

NEVER MAKE THE FIRST OFFER is an excellent book filled with a variety of sophisticated negotiating tips from a master deal-maker. As a practicing lawyer frequently involved in complex business negotiations, such guidance is priceless. It is also an interesting read chock full of anecdotes from Mr. Dell's lengthy career representing notable tennis stars (Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Jimmy Connors, Andy Roddick among many others), basketball players (Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Joaquim Noah, and a wide range of other notable figures (Sargent Shriver, Fred Smith of FedEx, Ted Leonsis of AOL, and Dan Snyder of the Washington Redskins). I recommend this book highly.