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One of the big challenges to doing a good job of negotiating is that often you don’t feel in control of the situation – you believe that the other side has all of the power. This of course is not true, because if it was then they would not be preparing to negotiate with you. They would just tell you what to do and you would do it. See? Now doesn’t that make you feel better?

So here’s a secret: power is not real. It only exists in your mind and so it is what you think it is. If you think that you are powerful, then you are. If you don’t think that you are powerful, then you won’t be. Sales people have known for a long time that negotiation is a process of information discovery. During this discovery process you learn what your sources of power for this particular negotiation are.

A long time ago, a researcher named Dr. Chester L. Karrass discovered that power is simply a state of mind. Those who think that they are powerless will negotiate weakly even if in reality they do have power. Those who think that they have power will negotiate from strength even if they really don’t have any power.

The take away here is to get yourself in the right state of mind BEFORE you start to negotiate. Once you start the negotiations make sure that you keep your ears open so that you can discover your real sources of power. Then go out and make it happen!

As a list builder you have to make the choice between promoting affiliate products or self-created products. Did you know that the top product creators in any online marketing niche are making twice as much money as the top affiliate marketers?

That brings us to an important question: Wouldn’t it make more intuitive and logical sense to create and sell your own products if you could make twice as much money? I’m really being conservative here by saying that you can “just” make twice as much. The reality looks different. Many affiliate marketers aren’t just making less money while promoting products of other marketers, they aren’t making a name in their niche either.

Let’s compare this scenario to product creators. If a product creator builds a list by feeding his subscribers valuable information (from self-created reports), he is not just banking 100% commission, he is building a brand at the same time. This is what makes the biggest difference in your online business and on your bank account.

Here is a real life example of how this may look and work: Let’s say you’ve a decent sized list of 3,000 subscribers. Every time you send out a product recommendation 3% of your list buys which comes down to 90 people. The product sells for $27 and pays a 60% commission to affiliates (this is the standard for Clickbank products). You make $16.20 per sale and $1,458 total. Not too bad, right? Yes, but let me give you another example…

You’ve a list of 3,000 people and are only promoting your own Ebooks and coaching programs. We assume exactly the same as in the affiliate promotion example, but this time 4% of your list buys (this is a very realistic percentage). In this instance you make $3,240 profit meaning you doubled your revenue by selling your own product.

It may sound that a 4% conversion rate is an unrealistic number. However, that’s not true. As a list builder your goal is to build trust with your subscribers and by doing so more and more people will buy your products and coaching programs. If you are really doing things right and aren’t too greedy, you should be able to get a 5% conversion rate for low-priced products, and a 1% to 2% conversion rate for high-end programs (like a $500 coaching program).

So write down your own list building and product creation strategy.

How many products will you create a month?

What will you do to generate an ongoing flood of new leads?

Have you observed the cost you incur when negotiating with difficult people? Negotiating with such people can be weird from several perspectives.

First, there’s the mental anguish of interacting with them. Next, there’s the physical anxiety that manifest itself in the form of stress. Then, there’s the ‘time wasted’ factor due to the mental agility they subject you to.

Depending on the relationship you have with such people, if you deal with them efficiently you can expedite the negotiation process and get back to normalcy.

The following is a simplistic formula for negotiating with difficult people.

Determine the value of the difficult person:

• Some people are difficult to negotiate with because of the way they see themselves. They have the mindset of someone that wants to be catered to because of their perceived status, or for whatever reason they deem the need to elevate themselves. With this mindset, they may take a, ‘I win/you lose’ approach to the negotiation. When dealing with such a person, acknowledge the perceived self-status they possess. Only do so to the degree that you don’t put yourself in a compromising position that’s difficult to recover from. Part of your assessment lies in determining the value they have of you, your organization, etc. Once you make your determination, move to the next step.

Assess what to do to/with them:

• After you’ve determined their value, create several options that might be feasible to alter the negotiation’s path. This can be from kowtowing to being extremely rude (i.e. sometimes standing up to such a person is all that’s needed to bring them back in line). Depending on the thoughts you’ve generated to address the situation, the solution will lay somewhere between the boundaries. I’d suggest you not implement your softest or harshest option, because that would not leave you room to move past that point in either direction. Plus, you want to give nonverbal signals as to the negotiation direction which you’re prepared to move, based on the response the difficult person displays (i.e. if they begin to move in the ‘right’ direction, you can be nicer). Keep in mind that you can reflect their behavior, too. Some difficult people may not realize the behavior they’re displaying until they see it mirrored back. Once they sense it from you, they may soften their demeanor.

Get difficult people out of your environment/life:

• Once you have them under control, seek to reach the end of the negotiation as quickly as possible. Get them out of your environment. One reason you want to expedite them is due to the fact that in a negotiation some difficult people will use a harsh demeanor as a way to test your pressure points to see how you’ll react to their omnipotence. Then, they’ll soften their position, only to apply that negative demeanor at another time. In essence, they’ll be playing a version of ‘good cop, bad cop’ with themselves in both roles. You won’t know if it’s Jekyll or Hyde that you’re dealing with until they display their real demeanor, which may only be that demeanor for the time it takes them to shift characters again.

While you may have to make several attempts to bring a difficult person in line, once you effectively deal with them, you’ll feel better at the outcome of the negotiation… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!