Good morning and welcome to The Closer, the newsletter all about deals. Today’s edition is short and sharp — one tactic, backed by research, to help you negotiate smarter. No headlines, no noise — just a Nugget you can deploy by lunchtime.
If you have a friend trying to work something out – a big deal, a tricky negotiation – please forward this to them.
Join the community by following us on X and Linkedin.
TRUST
VALUE
CREATION
Closer Tactic #49 • Deal Psychology
Most people see trust as soft.
Smart negotiators see it as a 23% profit boost.
The Nugget
High-trust negotiations generate 23% more joint value than low-trust pairs.
When Reed Hastings negotiated Netflix's content deals, he built trust by sharing Netflix's actual viewing data with studios—information competitors guarded closely. This transparency enabled studios to create better content for Netflix's audience, leading to exclusive deals and lower licensing costs.
Trust enabled information sharing that revealed win-win opportunities both sides would otherwise miss.
How to Deploy
• Share non-critical information first to signal openness
• Follow through on small commitments to build credibility
• Be transparent about your real constraints (not your negotiating positions)
Avoid confusing trust with weakness. Trust is about reliable information exchange, not giving away leverage.
Takeaway
Trust isn't just good karma—it's a value creation engine that makes bigger pies for everyone.
Reply with how you build trust fast in new deals—
we might feature you (and send a mug).
