Start with NO...

Start with No introduces a system of decision-based negotiation. Never again will you be out there on a wing and a prayer. Never again will you feel out of control. Never again will you compromise unnecessarily. Never again will you lose a negotiation.

The best negotiators:

* aren’t interested in “yes”—they prefer “no”

* never, ever rush to close, but always let the other side feel comfortable and secure

* are never needy; they take advantage of the other party’s neediness

* create a “blank slate” to ensure they ask questions and listen to the answers, to make sure they have no assumptions and expectations

* always have a mission and purpose that guides their decisions

* don’t send so much as an e-mail without an agenda for what they want to accomplish

* know the four “budgets” for themselves and for the other side: time, energy, money, and emotion

* never waste time with people who don’t really make the decision

Start with No offers a contrarian, counterintuitive system for negotiating any kind of deal in any kind of situation—the purchase of a new house, a multimillion-dollar business deal, or where to take the kids for dinner. It is full of dozens of business as well as personal stories illustrating each point of the system. It will change your life as a negotiator. If you put to good use the principles and practices revealed here, you will become an immeasurably better negotiator.