In this post I
interviewed my long time friend David Ogden who changed his career focus from
Real Estate to the Music Business and started Rayo Entertainment, a Record Label & Music Group that has offices in
New York and Lima, Peru, he plans to take his company worldwide. Rayo
Entertainment has four divisions, which offer Management, Publishing, a Record
Label and opportunities to perform on Stage. David has used his negotiating
skills to grow a international company that caters to artists and the music
community, he has a long history in negotiating and making deals from his
background in Real Estate.
Here are the
questions I put to him.
1) How do you separate the people from
the problem when you are Negotiating? What tips do you have for new negotiators
who are trying to do this?
When
negotiating, it important to clearly know what you want in the negotiations.
Once you establish what you want, I find it best to try to detach and stick to
principles. It’s hard to negotiate with emotion.
2) How do you handle positional
bargaining tactics?
Again, I think it’s
clear to know what you want and what you are willing to concede before
negotiations.
3) Can you give me an example of how you
worked toward mutual benefit when you were negotiating a deal?
Its important to
listen in negotiations, sometimes the other party wants less than you
anticipated. If you know what you are willing to give, giving a little back
might seem like you are meeting them. Because ultimately you want the deal to
close, you don’t want the
person to kill
the deal after an agreement. This is important, there is no deal until it’s
closed.
4) How do you handle dirty tricks when
negotiating?
Acceptance,
there will be always dirty tricks, its negotiating. There are no rules.
5) When you are negotiating how do you
view interests vs. positions?
Separate them;
you have to be as detached as possible. In order to negotiate, you have to pay
attention, and you must know your value.
6) Do you think self-confidence plays a
major role when negotiating?
Yes, but more
than that is self worth or what your value is to the deal.
Thanks to my
class on Negotiation & Deal-Making I am able to
reconnect with David and get his take on Negotiation and Deal-Making, I thought
his answers were to the point and insightful. David has the skills for
Negotiation from his days as a Real Estate broker and now with his passion for
music he is applying those skills in the music industry.
