Negotiation for operators. The conversations that move things.
Voss-inspired negotiation tactics applied to the real situations founders and operators face - outreach, demos, pricing, hiring, board pressure, exit conversations. Not theory. Not manipulation. Frameworks that work because they respect the other person's intelligence.
Book a sessionCore topics
No-oriented questions in cold outreach - how to get replies without sounding pushy
Pricing negotiations - how to hold price without discounting reflexively
Demo calls as negotiation, not product tours - controlling the conversation
The 'send me a proposal' trap - and how to avoid it
Founder conversations: board pressure, investor asks, co-founder disputes
Career negotiation for product and growth leaders
The frameworks I use
No-oriented questions get higher response rates than yes-oriented ones - because they reduce the perceived risk of engagement.
'Would it be a bad time to talk about X?' gets more replies than 'Would you be open to a call about X?' The counterintuitive framing signals respect and reduces defensiveness.
Calibrated questions give the other party ownership of the solution - and make implementation more likely.
When a prospect says 'that's too expensive', the wrong answer is a discount. The right answer is a calibrated question that makes them articulate what 'expensive' means to them.
Tactical empathy isn't about being nice. It's about making the other party feel understood - so they stop defending and start collaborating.
Label their concerns before they voice them: 'It seems like budget timing is the real issue here.' This moves the conversation from positional to interest-based faster than any argument.
Want to sharpen your negotiation?
Book a 1:1 session on MentorCruise. We'll work through your specific situation - a deal you're trying to close, a conversation you're dreading, or a framework you want to internalize.