Customer Reviews

The Good Girl's Guide to Negotiating: How to Get What You Want at the Bargaining Table

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Exhibiting all the traits of a "good girl" and fuming from my last job review, I thought this book would be a perfect weekend read. By the end, I was bored and this book has been tossed into my pile of rejected paperbacks.

This book is more successful in listing personality traits of a "good girl" rather than giving effective strategies that are sure to lead to bargain table success. There are some negotiating tactics, but they aren't anything new (listen, know how to say no, get things in writing, shop around, think before you sign, etc). Once I finished the book, I knew what made me a "good girl," I knew there were a lot of women like me, and I knew in what situations "good girls" failed, but I still didn't have an applicable strategy for remedying these issues.

For instance, the authors recommend researching your expected salary before negotiating your next job contract. This isn't new advice, and I still didn't know where to turn for this information -- coworkers, online, library? There are a few cases where the authors give resources -- but they are ones I am already familiar with or are too obscure to be useful (what numbers to call when barganing for a casket, find out what your car is worth with the kelly blue book).

And be forewarned, the entire book consists of hundreds and hundreds of anecdotes. It is the reader's responsibility to figure out how to apply other women's successes and pitfalls to herself. While sometimes entertaining, this approach is not going to transform a "good girl" into a negotiating shark.

There are few good points in this book but most of it is just common good sense.

My spouse and I used this book recently in buying our new minivan. The information about buying cars in the "Good Girls" book was very helpful in our negotiations with the car dealers. Using the tips in the book, we were able to get exactly what we wanted at a price well below sticker. The book made us much more confident in dealing with the sales people, and I felt that we were very well prepared, thanks to the information included in the book. This book isn't just for good girls, but for anyone who wants to learn how to negotiate better. I'm very glad this book came along just as we were buying a new car, and I think that it would be very helpful for anyone who will be buying a car, a new home, or doing anything that requires good negotiating skills.

The book tells you what women do wrong but it does not really teach you how to do it right. The authors interview a lot of people who may know something about the topic but they do not do so in depth. They then string together a lot of quotes without real analysis and practical how to. I should have known from the introduction that the authors were not experts in this area.

This book was not really what I was looking for. I wanted to think about negotiation generally, and how I as a woman am approaching it, and how I can be more effective. Although the book has some limited general advice at the beginning, almost all of the book focuses on specific situations (buying a car, getting a divorce, etc.) Since all of the situations presented were inapplicable to me, the book was of limited value. Readers interested in this title should check the table of contents and excerpt on this page. I would not have picked this book if those features had been available when I bought it.

Kudos and thanks to the talented and tough team of Elizabeth Austin and Leslie Whitaker for writing a superb, well-reported and well-written business book not filled with silly metaphors, juvenile imagery and psychobabble. "The Good Girls' Guide to Negotiating" is well-documented and practical with insight, advice and tips for use in many different arenas and life trials. There are success stories and lessons, all written with candor and aplumb, in a style that is readable and understandable.

Perhaps because both women are trained journalists, this book has substance and solid information for application on a variety of fronts, from home to work, volunteer office and even to the funeral parlor. I recommend this book as a graduation gift to any young woman from high school, college or graduate school. It's also perfect as an engagement gift, birthday, guide to someone newly divorced or someone swtiching careers or life paths. This is advice all women can heed, from how to approach a deal to how to feel confident about fees.

So many business books I have read over the years-- particuarly those aimed at women-- appear to be condescending or just plain foolish. They state the obvious in metaphors that may attempt to be mythical but come off as cartoonish. Not so with this welcome book. It is a proud addition to my bookshelf and I suggest the good old boys get a good look at it too.

Way to go, girls, you did good.

This practical and fun-to-read book will help you in any type of negotiation, personal or business. Every woman will be able to relate to at least a few of the personal stories of negotiation trauma and triumph. The book has a complete index so specific topics can be easily located. Detailed information on helpful resources is included when applicable. A rare book - enjoyable to read and wonderfully useful!

This is a great book which has helped me take charge of my life in business by using the techniques outlined by Austin and Whitaker. As I read the book it occured to me that I would like to ask the authors specific questions not covered in the book.
The majority of reviews on this book have been very favorable
but each of us seems to have more questions or needs not covered in the book. Usually when a book is as successful as this one appears to be the publisher arranges a book signing.
I have yet to hear of this occurance and would relish the chance to ask a few specific questions and get my book signed by Austin and Whitaker.

I have been in business to business sales for 10 years and found this book refreshing. Although it has a limited shelf-life with some very hip references, it deals with very specific topics (buying a car, a house)as well as help develop a negotiating attitude. I gave it to my mom (who has always been afraid to speak up) and my sister who pops off whatever is on her mind. Mom learned you don't get what you don't ask for and sis learned to remember "what's in it for them".
It is an easy read-pick it up put it down.

For all of us who have faced the nightmare of being assertive in negotiations, in asserting our rights as individuals, consumers and professionals, this book is a must. I could readily identify with many of the issues confronting women in everday life. The methodologies for overcoming shyness and lack of confidence were extremely helpful, understandable and doable. All you need is a different mindset and approach to getting what you want. The authors are easy to relate to and thus their suggestions are easier to grasp. Through humor, the authors made their subject come alive. I found the reading quite enjoyable.

"The Good Girl's Guide to Negotiating" provides the organizing principles for successful negotiations. The prose sparkles and the ideas illuminate.

This book identifies the intrinsic skills that women--who were raised to be ladies--possess, and then illustrates how to employ these talents in a myriad of situations which require negotiating finesse. The authors provide entertaining and insightful vignettes that highlight the principles of smart negotiations.

I've used the guidelines the authors offer to negotiate a five figure business contract, as well as to bargain for antique Hollohaza porcelain in Budapest.

This book is the perfect gift for any woman who wore white gloves on Sunday to visit the great aunts and uncles, who danced at chaperoned cotillions and who learned to say "No" only to frisky dates. It tops my December holiday list for my dear friends, who will be delighted to learn how to use all the qualities that have made them ladies to negotiate for anything with aplomb.