Let’s talk about powerful negotiations. Do you have the CEO mindset when it comes to negotiations? If you are looking for your personal brand or your business to be a household name, what are some key things you should be considering in negotiations.
I am sharing six lessons you can learn in negotiations from the current lawsuit that is going on right now between Monique, the comedian and Netflix.
If you have a CEO mindset if you are looking for your brand product service to be a household name, when those opportunities really start coming your way; these are the lessons in negotiations that I want you to be equipped with. The biggest mistake CEO minded entrepreneurs make is when those opportunities finally come your way, you don't negotiate because you are afraid of losing the opportunity. You're so excited to have the opportunity that you don't want to ruffle any feathers. You don't want to ask for too much. And I just want to equip you with confidence to get what you deserve, even when it's the opportunity of the lifetime because it may not be the opportunity of a lifetime, if you are undervaluing yourself and undercutting yourself.
know a good deal vs a bad deal when you see one + negotiate like the CEO you are.
Monique believes that Netflix low balled her and an offer for a comedy special, right and so in the introduction I talked about when a company comes to you that you have been dreaming to work with we all know that Dave Chappelle has done Netflix specials, that David Letterman had a show, Seinfeld, some of comedy’s greatest legends, have all had Netflix specials.
Now, Netflix has come knocking on Monique's door offering her this elite opportunity. Right? We know how many people stream Netflix, especially through the coronavirus and quarantine. how many of us just binge watch our hearts out and fell in love with things that we didn't know we would or re-watch things that we knew we loved. And so what a great opportunity this would have been for Monique right? Well, she didn't necessarily feel that way. She was offered half a million dollars by Netflix to do a comedy special and an initial offer and she felt like it was a complete and total lowball. However, when you look at the landscape of other Netflix deals, it really pales in comparison.
Understand the landscape of your industry to know what your peers are making.
So many of us are afraid to talk money. Do your research. The stuff is out there at a certain level, especially if we're talking about that CEO mindset, that household brand, household names, the people at the level that you're out right now are talking money. So go and dig into your mastermind. Go talk to your peers, go look on the internet, and see where your peers are sharing their revenue reports, their income reports their secrets behind their million-dollar launch, whatever it is, so that you know, what is standard in your industry.
What were Monique’s peers in your industry making for this? Well, when she looked, she saw that Amy Schumer was offered $11 million for her Netflix special and that Dave Chapelle was offered 20 million versus her $500 thousand. So here, Monique wasn't really being a diva when you look at the details. You're not being petty over pennies; you're asking for what you're worth. She saw the competitive landscape. They were paying offering to pay her a fraction of that half a million dollars versus 11 million and 20 million really was a slap in the face. And so because Monique felt like this was a slap in the face, she filed racial discrimination and a gender discrimination lawsuit against Netflix claiming that their failure to negotiate beyond the initial offer was discriminatory and retaliation under the law.
Netflix fired back and filed a motion to dismiss Monique's claim saying hey, she doesn't have a real claim here. Failure to negotiate is not proof of any kind of racial discrimination or gender discrimination. The court disagreed with Netflix and said, you know what? We don't know if this is going to be successful through trial, but we're going to let this go to trial and we are going to let Monique bring this before us and bring all the evidence and see if this really was racially motivated; but just because this question has never been asked, does not mean that it is not a legitimate question.
Whoa. Let me repeat that. The court said just because this question has not been asked before does not make the question illegitimate!
The number one way that you can ensure that you are getting what you are worth is being fully informed.
Sometimes we are so afraid of breaking status quo. We don't want to ask the questions. We don't want to ruffle the feathers. Because we're thinking, well, how come no one else has had a problem with this? How come nobody else has spoken up about this before? Well, just because nobody else has asked about this before or spoken up about it doesn't mean that you should not speak up on your own behalf when something just doesn't sit right with you. Whether this is a major company, a major opportunity or not, if something doesn't sit right with you, and you go and you ask your peers. Hey, did you see this? Have you noticed this in your contracts? Have you noticed this and similar offers? And they say, yeah, I've seen it, but I never asked about it. Don't let that stop you from asking about it. When you are fully informed and you ask the questions that haven't been asked before, now, you know, the full landscape of the deal.
Never ever accept a first offer
Here Monique is not accepting what was just given to her because it was a good opportunity. Closed mouths don't get fed. If you never ask you will never receive. And so in going back to my initial point of understanding the competitive landscape, Amy Schumer was initially offered $11 million dollars, went back and ask for two more million dollars. So that price was bumped up. She still went and asked for more and said hey, I might not be a legend like Seinfeld and Letterman and Chappelle, but I damn sure and entitled to more money and went back in ask for.
Counter offering is the least you can do especially when you get to the CEO levels that I'm talking about.
That is what is customary in business, when you receive an initial offer in business, it is customary that an initial offer is just that an initial offer. They are expecting you to come back. They are expecting you to come back.
I'm going to say that a third time they are expecting you to come back with a counter offer.
Do not sell yourself short ..COUNTER OFFER
Guess what?! Your counterparts are, and they are getting paid more than you and this is why!
One of my signature services that I do with each of my clients is finding the answer to the Magic Equation. That is putting a dollar amount on both the tangible and intangible value that you have as a brand that your business or service has built up in the market through all of your hard work that justifies the price that you were asking for. You don't know if something is a good or bad offer. If you have not done the work to correctly value yourself.
Are you arbitrarily setting your prices? Raising your prices just because you saw that Sally was charging this so you're going to charge it too? You might be cutting yourself short. Do the work, if you don't know the answer to the Magic Equation for yourself find out here.
A lot of times because you're at the helm it's a whirlwind. You don't even realize the resume of accomplishments that you've brought to the table. But believe me, this is something that Monique was not mistaken about. Her lawyers brought her resume to the table. A lot of us forget that Monique won an Oscar. We are still rooting for some of our favorite actors and actresses to win an Oscar and Monique won. She has her Oscar and is sending a clear message to Nextflix that you're not going to tell me I am not valuable that I am not exceptional amongst my peers because of my race or gender; here are my receipts.
Where are your receipts? As a CEO you’ve worked hard to build value in your brand and business. Where are your accomplishments? Where are your awards? It is there you will find and confidently know your value when you come into a negotiation to understand your worth.
know when to walk away…you will thank yourself later
One of the best decisions that you can ever make is avoiding a nightmare, avoiding heartache, and headache. And guess what? Monique walked away from this because she knew it wasn't worth her value. And in the midst of her lawyers preparing this lawsuit, they have uncovered all kinds of crazy racial and gender based discriminatory practices that are deep within the culture of Netflix, that probably would have made that working relationship, unhealthy and a nightmare. How many times have you accepted a nightmare client that you had hesitations about? And you say to yourself at some point in the engagement, oh, I knew I shouldn't have accepted this in the beginning, but the money was too good. You go, you agreed to the speaking opportunity where they aren't paying you but they're just giving you promo and exposure and access and it is a complete disaster. It is unorganized and ultimately unhealthy and mis-aligned with your brand, with your values and does not benefit you. So one of the strongest things you can do is understand your value and know when to walk away. So one more time if you are taking notes:
Number one, know the landscape.
Number two, ask questions.
Number three, never accept a first offer.
Four, always ask for more.
Five, know your value.
Six know when to walk away.
I actually have a bonus SEVENTH tip for negotiating like a boss. You can find it inside this free video training that comes with a free downloadable guide over on YouTube or you can watch below and start negotiating with power TODAY.