Showing Authenticity in Negotiations with John Cornwell

On this episode we’re joined by John Cornwell, who is the Chief Commercial Officer at Ogilvy Worldwide. John has been with Ogilvy for a number of years in various roles, but his current one focuses on their commercial strategy, including their pricing strategies, positioning, and training and development.

John talks about his experience with, and tips for, negotiating successfully. In negotiations, John emphasizes the importance of authenticity and credibility. This, along with understanding the interests (versus demands) of both parties, supports coming to an outcome both parties can be happy with.

Topics covered during this episode include:

• A primary passion of John’s and how he became interested in it.
• The two ways emotions show up during negotiations and why it matters.
• How identifying emotion as a tactic can help you negotiate better.
• The difference between demands and interests and which is more important.
• A strange experience of escalating emotion John had and what he learned from it.
• The importance of staying emotionally detached from the outcome during negotiations.
• Why preparation is the most important stage of negotiation.
• Signs you’ve likely won or lost a negotiation before it’s even begun.
• How agencies typically approach negotiations versus a more effective way.
• Why simply offering a discount is not the same as a negotiation.
• The power of language during negotiations and words you should avoid.
• Why investing in training and mentoring for commercial leaders is vital.
• The training program they developed during and since the pandemic.
• How agency leaders can approach shared challenges more effectively.
• Why some people will naturally be better negotiators than others.

John Cornwell on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/john-cornwell-17684822