Review: Start with No: The Negotiating Tools That the Pros Don't Want You to Know

Start with No: The Negotiating Tools That the Pros Don't Want You to Know by Jim Camp
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s hard to judge too accurately without applying these tips for a significant amount of time, so I can’t speak too intelligently. At first glance at least, it appears to be a decent book about negotiating. The author assures us the tips aren’t “gamesmanship” but pay close attention when he says that because they really are gamesmanship. Some of it is cold and calculated, and for the most part the book embraces that. I think the idea is that the author suggests that everyone does it, so it’s okay. Those bits feel a little sleazy to me.

The rest is pretty solid. It’s about clear planning and communication, very actionable, and reasonable. Definitely stuff I will be trying out. A lot of pragmatism. The very last tip is what brought it together for me. The author tells us that he feels okay asking for a fair price because he’s okay paying a fair price. That’s what the value is driving this book. I felt that really painted everything in a new light. He’s not trying to give us tips to manipulate and squeeze every dollar, he’s trying to give us tools to counter others and get a fair price. Of course, it’s not that straightforward, but the intent seems more honest in that light.

A lot of hate towards win-win negotiation tactics, especially “Getting to Yes”, but I felt a lot of the tips were complementary, so go figure. I’ll do a deeper dive at some point to compare the two. As is, I’ll probably start using some of this and see what happens.

View all my reviews