The 1 trick that can help you win any argument
On Staten Island, an often forgotten borough of New York City known for its working class hustlers and a sometimes rough reputation, you have to be tough to get things done.
Dom Detore is tough. He's commercial and residential building contractor who has lived on Staten Island for 21 years.
As the boss at 2D Construction, Detore, star of CNBC's new show, "Staten Island Hustle," which premieres April 11, is in charge of negotiating deals for projects in New York and New Jersey that can top nine figures. He even worked on the construction for "Shark Tank" star Daymond John's Manhattan co-working space, Blueprint + Co.
Over the years, he's perfected the art of closing the deal. Whether you want a raise, a good price on a car, or anything else, Detore says there's one trick you need to know.
"Negotiation is a very simple thing," Detore tells CNBC Make It. "You just stop talking. You get your point across, what you're willing and able to do, and stop.
"When I go into a negotiation, I speak what I want and I stop," he explains. "I'll say 'Listen, all I want to do is pay you $10,000,' and I stop talking."
The reason? "[If] you keep on bringing it up and going over and over it again, it gives the person time to think of how they can get out of it," Detore says.
Instead, let the other party talk as much as they'd like. "I'd let you talk for an hour and a half, I'd just sit there," Detore says.
He's right, according to negotiation expert Steve Gates.
"The more you talk, the more you are likely to make a concession," writes Gates in "The Negotiation Book." "The unnerving consequence of silence is that the other party continues to talk, and ultimately make unplanned concessions. At the very least, they often provide you with more information than they intended."
Detore also always stands firmly behind the initial terms he sets.
For example, when working with suppliers in the construction industry, Detore says his negotiations can go something like this:
First, "You tell me it's a dollar, and I say, 'No, I'm going to pay 90 cents,'" he explains.
Then, "They send me the invoice for a dollar. I send them 90 cents. They call me up and they say, 'Dom, didn't you say it was a dollar?'
"I say, 'No you said it was a dollar. I said it was 90 cents.'"
But for Detore, his number one strategy has worked again and again.
"Let the other person do all the talking, nine out of 10 times they'll talk themselves into it," he says.
Catch the series premiere of "Staten Island Hustle," Wednesday April 11 at 10P ET/PT on CNBC.
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