Customer Reviews

Guerrilla Negotiating: Unconventional Weapons and Tactics to Get What You Want (Guerrilla Marketing Series)

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Being in the professional negotiation game, I thoroughly enjoy reading books which describe and tutor the subject. Although the current market is lousy with negotiating treatises, there are a few that stand out. Fisher and Ury's GETTING TO YES seems to be my favorite, one I return to time and again. However, I believe it healthly to step outside conventional wisdom and somewhat static norms to expand one's knowledge base. Although I had no idea of the content, quality or readability of GUERRILLA NEGOTIATING, I took a flyer on it as it "looked" like it might be of some interest.

Authors Levinson, Smith and Wilson have been working together for some time now promoting the "Guerrilla" books, seminars, tapes, etc. and have been quite successful, commercially. Although this is my first "Guerilla" book, I know of their successes and common acceptance within many business circles. However, I don't judge a book or theory based on the opinions of others so, of course, I had to buy this book to determine if it had the content described in the hype.

The easy answer is that yes, indeed, this book contains the basics of negotiation theory and time-tested schemes and strategies. The problem I had with GUERRILLA NEGOTIATING was its complete lack of fluidity and cogence. Its almost as though the authors "bulleted" the book and a ghost writer took their words verbatim without the benefit of explanatory offsets. This book does very little to describe complex situations with offered solutions and options. Remember, when reading a non-fiction book AND if one is a serious reader of non-fiction, the reader will be looking for that ONE gem within the book to add to his/her repretoire. This book is basic in nature and lacked the ability to truly explain the negotiating process. Without an explanation of the framework and processes, a new negotiatior will be totally lost. And, if one is attempting to put to work the Guerrilla tactics, they will most likely present their case in a staggered, illogical, and perhaps, unprofessional manner as the authors failed to bring together the process of "beginning-to-end." This is my main gripe about the book.

To say that the book is not "Guerrilla" in nature would be a dramatic misstatement. The authors present a variety of tactics to move negotiations along including, well, a water gun. Yep, a water gun. The authors posit that if negotiations are bogged down or if you are having a difficult time moving a decisionmaker, bring a water gun to the table and threaten (or begin) to shoot him. Now, in a sales setting and depending on the sophistication of the other party, this "might" work. In a professional setting, this is tantamount to death. Lack of common sense given the facts and circumstances of a particular situation can be the death knell of a pending transaction.

Nevertheless, I cannot say this is a bad book. The book presents the materials necessary for the new negotiatior and, even some level of information for the seasoned negotiator. It is interesting that once a negotiator establishes a style, he/she just looks for ways to enhance that style. This book could fill that role.

Bottom line....if you're new to negotiating, this book will provide "glimpse-level" insight into the process. Don't look for the proverbial outline, its not there. The book doesn't present the reader with a process toward successful negotiations or even negotiation theory for that matter. On the other hand, the book does present the reader with a trove of summarized negotiating nuggets that will most likely be beneficial to many initiates. Further, the book provides summary resource materials.

CONTENT = great; READABILITY = poor.

I would recommend this book for anyone looking to gain an advantage in a negotiation. It is full of proven techniques and examples to help the reader better understand their uses and effects. The book is not so much a textbook on the art of negotiation, but focuses on letting the reader know what challenges await them and how to best deal with these challenges when they arise. Many of the techniques listed in the book must be practiced over and over again to become fully effective. However, even if these techniques are not practiced or the reader is not a frequent negotiator, the text provides enough easy to understand information that no one should feel taken advantage of in a negotiation situation again

This is like a tastless and overcooked minestrone soup (it gives you gas and stomach cramps, but no nutrients or energy), a hodge-podge mix of simple, often silly little issues and ideas, anything authors could connect with negotiation, no matter how losely!

Video, voice mail, checking your counterpart's horoscope (honest!), furniture, fax machine, sex, smoke, music, lawyers, laptop computers (all actual subtitles),you name it, it is all here, in this incoherent, silly mess. Some stuff is even repeated verbatim on various pages! A double insult!

Example #1: under sources of power, the authors list only 3: power(?), information and time. And that takes half a page and that is that. Hardly unorthodox stuff, highly superficial. Hey, power as a source of power, brilliant!

Example #2: Food (subtitle) Hunger is a very primal motivator. ... In a sales contest, the losers take the winners out for dinner. The winners eat steak, the losers eat beans.

Firstly, when something is primal, how can it be "very". It is like saying "this book is very first on the list of titles to be avoided!"
Secondly, now I know why there is so much hot stinky air in many negotiations! Those losers ate beans ...

Verdict: A blatant and transparent attempt to capitalise on the popularity of Guerilla Marketing books. I don't want to waste more of my, and more importantly, your precious time reviewing this mess. Did I waste my money buying this? I did. And I am not happy! I even tried selling this book on e-bay, but nobody wanted it. Smart bidders. Avoid like a bird flu.

The overall theme of the book is excellent. Negotiations are not a zero sum, winner take all exercise. A truly successful negotiation is one in which both (or all ) parties leave satisfied and in better shape as a result of the agreement than they would be without it. Too many people in the business world take the old track and think that they need to win, and that everyone else must lose, a mindset that is distructive for themselves, customers, suppliers and anyone else they do business with. That is why this book is a must read. It also supplies examples for increasing the size of the pie before dividing it, ways to recognize predatory negotiators, how to defend against their strategy, and most importantly what YOU need to do to prepare for and conduct a successful negotiation.

I picked up this book because I work in the automotive sales industry, and I have been very impressed with everything that is contained in its quick-to-read pages. It is filled with ideas for anyone who is ever in any type of sales or negotiating situations, which is really everyone. The anecdotes are fun to read and filled with practical ideas, and the insights into human psychology are astounding. I highly recommend this book to ANYONE!!

Lightning strikes the White House,

Lights get Dim,

Supreme Competition is about to Begin.

MB.