Let's Make the Deal

Meet E. Condoleezza Wiseman.  This gal is good.  Her legal concentration in the entertainment industry makes for a catapulting advantage in the world of negotiation.  I sat down with Wiseman to chat a bit about her experience with deal making and negotiating. 

Moi: How do you separate the people from the problem when you are negotiating?

Wiseman: “I focus on the issue at hand and what each person hopes to benefit from it.  My goal here is to come to a meeting of the minds.  The issue and the person are not one in the same.  For example, I recently negotiated the comeback career of an opera house singer.  The opera house certainly wanted this (once a legend) artist back on its roster.  The singer thought she could request top dollar for her talent.  The opera house had been in strong negotiations with a potential new house artist who would have taken less money than the old performer.  I focused on the fact that the old performer’s reputable name would continuously sell out the opera house.  This would mean countless benefits could potentially come with the old performer’s loyal followers.  The question then became, ‘Is it worth it to the opera house?’  The answer?  Yes.  There were concessions in the contract relevant to sales and increased royalties.  The final result was great money for the opera house and a refreshed career for the opera singer.  Both parties met in the middle.  It was a mutual agreeable deal for both parties involved.” 

Moi: How do you handle positional bargaining tactics?

Wiseman: “Positional bargaining is one-dimensional.  It’s all about who gets the shorter end of the stick.  Although positional bargaining still focuses on the issue at hand, I highly recommend that negotiators avoid this route like the plague!  It’s adversarial and both parties tend to come to a standstill throughout the negotiating process.  Emotions get intertwined using this approach and both parties have a greater risk of showing their weakness.  Neither party is heard mutually.  Everyone has to give up something in order to meet in the middle.”

Moi: Can you give me an example of how you worked toward mutual benefit when you were negotiating a deal?

Wiseman:  “Sure.  I’ll give you a surface example.  I manage the career of a phenomenal runway model.  There’s an upcoming fashion week that wants my client.  As her manager, I know my job is to get my client money and notoriety.  I also have to keep her in front of industry masterminds.  This particular fashion week doesn’t really have the resources to pony over the dough, but it’s an incredible opportunity for my client.  To begin, I looked at what each party needed.  Next, I listed what each party could hope to gain.  My tactic was to look at the best way of addressing the each of their needs, line-by-line, until a negotiation was reached.”

Wiseman ended out conversation with a very important emphasis.  Negotiations develop—they don’t just happen.  Neither party is going to give up everything, and neither party one is going to win everything.  Wiseman highly recommends Hollywood Dealmaking:Negotiating Talent Agreements as a solid resource for entertainment negotiations.