Never Make the First Offer: And Other Wisdom No Dealmaker Should Be Without

Boswell, John; Dell, Donald; Pratt, Sean [Narrator]

ISBN 10: 1596593776 / ISBN 13: 9781596593770

Published by Gildan Media, 2009

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 25020KK

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Never Make the First Offer: And Other Wisdom No Dealmaker Should Be Without
• Publisher: Gildan Media
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1596593776
• ISBN 13: 9781596593770
• Binding: audioCD
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 5 ounces

About this title

Synopsis

Donald Dell is a legend in the sports agent business. He's been at it for almost forty years, with a record of successful deals that puts him in a league of his own.

His unique guide to negotiating includes examples from Dell's dealings with some of the biggest names in sports, stars like Michael Jordon, Jimmy Connors, Andy Roddick, and Patrick Ewing. The audiobook brings the inner workings of the negotiating room to life, from the intense all-night wrangling sessions to the devious battles of wits. There's plenty of backstabbing, but also moments of glory earned by a brilliant negotiator at the top of his game.

Dell covers the various aspects of negotiations, in sports and in a more general context, such as understanding what's important, playing to your audience, gaining leverage and getting agreement. This includes such "life skills" as gaining trust, building relationships, and getting in touch with your "inner competitor." They also provide in-depth prescriptive instruction in sports agentry, explaining such specifics as the standard player agreement, licensing agreements, and stadium naming rights contracts.

Dell also shares his eight (sort of) absolute laws of negotiating, including:

* Never make the first offer: The more information you can get from the other side before you name a number, the better your position.

* Always be prepared to walk away: that gives you leverage. Conversely, if the other party senses you're negotiating from fear, you are immediately at a big disadvantage.

* In every negotiation there is a moment of truth: The key is to position your offer so that when it gets to that point, it's hard for them to say no.

About the Author

Donald Dell is the cofounder of the Association of Tennis Professionals and the founder of ProServ, a leading sports agency that has represented hundreds of star athletes. He is also a former captain of the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team, the founder of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, and a television tennis commentator. He was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.
John Boswell has written or co-written seventeen books.