If you are involved with sales, how do you feel when you hear phrases such as, Can you do anything about your price? or, You'll have to do better than that. and variations on these? Does a cloud or two cross the sun? You start to think, here we go again?.. - yet, have you prepared for this situation?

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Based upon my research of over 300 managers in the last two years, I have found what qualities are most important to hiring managers.

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There's an old joke about the New York City blackout. Power was out everywhere, and the electric company couldn't figure out what was wrong or how to fix it. Finally, they decided that the only one who could solve the problem was a long-retired worker who knew the system inside and out. He came out to the power plant, looked around, picked up a hammer and tapped one of the generators.

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What is Barter? Barter involves 2 parties. Each party wants to trade with each other and instead of exchanging cash for products or services, the exchange is carried out with products or services that each possesses. That is, there is a trade of a product or service that someone has, in return for another product or service the other party has.

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Believe me, it's not easy! And sometimes, it doesn't work at all.

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In its simplest form, bartering involves an equal trade. One business swaps a good or service for another. A lawyer, for example, may swap a few hours of legal assistance for a stay at an out-of-town hotel.

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Whether you're negotiating a peace settlement in a war-torn country or a peace settlement in an argument-ravaged relationship, strong preparation is the key to success.

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This article borrows from Howard Gardner's book, Changing Minds (2004). In order to get people in conflict to cooperate or collaborate sufficiently to settle or resolve their differences, and perhaps achieve reconciliation, it is necessary that they change their minds. The reason they are in dispute is because they are of two different minds about a particular thing, which is what they are fighting over. People do not change their minds easily. Some people are prepared to be burned at the stake, literally, rather than change their minds, or admit to a change of belief. People cling to the artifacts of their own minds with great stubbornness. This is called resistance. When a mediator seeks to bring parties together, she will encounter resistance. If there were no resistance, if changing minds was easy, there would be no need for mediators.

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