Steven Robbins here. Welcome to the Get It Done Guys quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

It doesn't matter how skilled you are, how much you have to offer, or the results you deliver.

You will never benefit from any of it if you aren't a good negotiator.

Good negotiators do research before they begin the negotiation.

Now that her business is going like gangbusters, my pal Bernice has decided to return

her attention to her wedding, specifically the cake.

She wants a sheetcake that feeds 250 people featuring a complete replica of a Sunday afternoon on the island of Le Grand Jotte

by Georges-Sorat, done entirely in buttercream frosting by hand. Dot by dot.

She's found a baker who's an artist. His name is Louis, and everybody loves him. He's pleasant,

he's fair, and he's generous. But he's not quite generous enough to agree to Bernice's terms. He wants $2,500 for the cake. She is prepared to offer $150. Even as I speak, she's rolling up her sleeves to enter the negotiation. With this much disparity between the offers, I doubt they'll reach agreement. Yes, she's on a tight

budget, but Bernice has unrealistic expectations for price. If she doesn't want to be laughed

out of the room the moment she makes her offer, she needs to do her background research.

Fortunately, she knows that. The more Bernice knows about what's going on in Louis's mind,

the better she'll be able to reach an agreement that works for both of them.

In an ideal world, she would do a Vulcan mind-mail with Louis and know his negotiating position perfectly.

Unfortunately, she isn't a Vulcan, and this isn't a perfect world.

Before negotiating, it makes sense to use the Internet for something other than posting pictures of food on your news stream.

Why do people do that?

Google the other person's name, their company name, and their industry.

Spend some time reading up on any news, hobbies, transactions, takeovers, personal triumphs, and or profiles

that might help you understand the person you're negotiating with.

Bernice's quick Google search found an interview in which Louis was discussing opening

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