And so you have this end goal of putting the puzzle together,

but you can't get to that end goal yet.

The end goal of a negotiation is maybe for Ed Nileen to sell their house,

for me to buy their house.

But before we can get there, the first step is to collaborate

on turning the puzzle pieces over.

The skill of negotiation has easily been the most valuable thing I've learned as a real estate investor.

Over the last 21 years, it's literally made me millions of dollars.

The problem in negotiation is that it has this reputation of being sort of like a battle or a tug of war,

where I'm on this side with my price, you're on the other side with your price, and we tug

back and forth, and the, quote, winner of the negotiation is the stronger person or the person

who can outlast the other person and pull you towards my side to get the price that I want,

and maybe meeting in the middle. The problem with that approach

is that everyone leaves the battle with their egos and their emotions bruised. And so if you're

someone like me, I've been investing in a small town as a small and mighty investor for 21 years,

and I see the people I'm negotiating with in the grocery store. I know those people and having a

relationship with them, both before and after the negotiation and getting referrals from them,

is a really important thing. I think a lot of us as negotiators, that approach, while maybe successful

sometimes in getting a good deal on a real estate investment, leaves something to be desired. So in this episode,

I want to share with you an approach I've learned from others that fits my personality better,

that has made me feel much better about the negotiation process, while also getting a lot of good

deals and maintaining or even improving the relationship with the other person I'm negotiating with.

...