The Good Girl's Guide to Negotiating FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
You know that women make 76 cents for every dollar guys make. But do you know why we make so much less? "Many of us were raised to be what I call 'good girls,' " explain authors Leslie Whitaker and Beth Austin. "We can't stop being nice, even if it kills us financially or robs of our fair share of the proverbial pie." Too often, the authors argue, we women don't insist on our value in the workplace -- and so we get marked down in negotiations.
In this feminine version of the classic Getting to Yes, Whitaker and Austin show us how to insist upon the value of our work in negotiation. They show us how to get what we want, from 401(k)s to wedding days. In doing so, they prove what many women know and few women practice: "You don't have to choose between being a good person and getting a good deal." (Jesse Gale)
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Like many women, you probably already possess a reservoir of untapped negotiating skills. You're probably a great listener, a keen observer of nonverbal cues, and an expert at putting yourself in another person's shoes. The Good Girl's Guide to Negotiating can help you utilize these extraordinary gifts when it really matters. This book gives you the knowledge, self confidence, and tools you need to make a great deal every time you negotiate, whether you're selling a house, asking for a raise -- or buying a company.
SYNOPSIS
This book is for every woman who ever made a bad deal because she was too nice or too naive to negotiate effectively.
Whether you're buying a house, asking for a raise, or drawing up your divorce agreement, the internal pressure to "be a good girl" can drive you to give away more than you should, or to settle for less than you deserve. Don't be embarrassed: you're not alone. Women buy half the nation's new cars every year, yet studies show they end up paying as much as 40 percent more than their male counterparts. At work, they earn 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. And when they get home, married women do far more than their fair share of the household chores.
It's not surprising that so many of us are lousy negotiators. From the time we're tiny, we're encouraged to please others and deny our own needs. But the good news for good girls is that many of us already possess a reservoir of untapped negotiating skills. We're great listeners, keen observers of nonverbal cues, and experts at putting ourselves in the other person's shoes.
The Good Girl's Guide to Negotiating will help you put those extraordinary gifts to work and equip you with the self-confidence, knowledge, and skills you need to make a great deal, whether you re selling a house, leasing a car — or buying a company.
*Does the idea of walking onto a car lot make your stomach feel like it's filled with prehistoric dragonflies? *Are you still waiting politely for your boss to notice what a great job you've been doing? *Do you thank your husband and your children when they pick up their own dirty clothes? *Are you too shy to tell your lover you'd like a little more of this and a whole lot less of that? *Then you're probably a "good girl," and you need this book to learn how to get a better deal at the bargaining table of life.
It's time to stop believing you're too nice to negotiate. You don't need to be a shark to be strong and effective at the bargaining table. Using your well-developed interpersonal skills and your inner sense of fair play, you can learn to put together win-win deals that make everybody happy — including yourself. This book will teach you how to:
• Harness all those "good girl" traits that can lead smart women to make foolish deals • Do the homework necessary to get an A in Bargaining 101 • Say no without stuttering • Ask directly for what you deserve
The Good Girl's Guide to Negotiating will give you the confidence and know-how you need to get what you want in the boardroom, the bedroom, and everywhere in between.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booklist
...Whitaker and Austin, once victims themselves, now set the scene for win-win negotiations, and they impart their advice with a chuckle...
Publishers Weekly
Writing in an upbeat style, the authors provide lots of morale-boosting examples of women who have managed to conquer their weaknesses...
American Statesman
...synthesizes just about everything useful that's been written — for women or men — about making a point of view work for you...with books like these, women have a better chance of making it without a real live mentor.
Publishers Weekly
Whitaker, a reporter at Time and ghostwriter of The Beardstown Ladies' Commonsense Investment Guide, and Austin, a contributing editor at Self, know from firsthand experience that many women don't negotiate effectively. Whitaker says she never considered requesting more than a flat fee for her work on the Beardstown book, but later rethought her position when the book became a bestseller, reaping countless profits for the packager. Whether accepting a new job, closing a real estate deal or considering volunteer projects, women should not fall into common traps of giving up too easily, acting overly nice or selling themselves short, Whitaker and Austin urge. Writing in an upbeat style, the authors provide lots of morale-boosting examples of women who have managed to conquer their weaknesses and adopt winning negotiating strategies, along with studies demonstrating the differences between how men and women negotiate. Careful preparation, listening to the other party and patience are key negotiating strengths common among women, they say. They also offer many standard tips for specific situations, such as negotiating on the phone, advising women who need time to think out their negotiating strategy to simply say it's not a good time to talk and to call back when they're ready. (Mar. 6) Forecast: The message that women can be good girls but not end up as doormats may hit home for many readers, especially if the authors make their case on national television as planned. Still, given the competition, and the familiarity of much of the advice, the book's success is likely to be modest. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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