Tips, Hacks and Countermeasures for Negotiating With a Giant
“JL Needham, owner of Valence, shares interesting insights on how to deal with the CEO of a strategic buyer,” shares Sam Thompson a Minneapolis business broker and President of Transitions In Business. “JL also provides tips on threading the needle between a negotiation poker faced versus appearing standoffish.”
If you’re working from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ve probably received a few packages from Amazon. As more people order essentials to deal with “shelter at home” restrictions, Amazon has seen a sudden spike in activity, which is causing them to hire more than 100,000 fulfillment center workers.
Most Amazon orders arrive on time, and the seller gets paid just fine, but a tiny percentage of orders get mixed up, and that’s where a company called VeriShip helps. VeriShip is in the business of auditing anything that gets shipped by FedEx and UPS and recently acquired a company called Valence, which inspects shipments for Amazon Sellers and recovers a 25% commission when they spot a mistake Amazon has made. JL Needham started Valence, and in this episode, JL describes getting acquired by VeriShip.
This episode is jam-packed with negotiation tips, hacks and countermeasures you can use when negotiating with a giant. You’ll learn:
- Why having a unique idea for a business may be overrated
- How to use an MBA scholarship to find excellent talent for pennies on the dollar
- Who a “deal sourcer” is and how to handle a call from one
- To measure your “risk thermostat”
- How to leverage industry events to meet potential acquirers
- How to thread the needle between a negotiation poker face and appearing standoffish
- How to make your company look bigger than it is when an acquirer wants to visit your location
- How to measure an employee’s commitment to your business
- The persuasive role text (not email) can play in getting a deal done
- How to psychoanalyze your acquirer
- The difference between qualitative and quantitative valuation
- How to define your “unfair advantage” and capitalize on it when you go to sell