Are you afraid to negotiate?

In our last newsletter, we told you about one of our PokerDivas Alumni who was working with a male client, the President of an organization, who is blatantly unfair to women when negotiating business deals (Click here for the full recap). In summary:

The company’s Marketing Team recently brought in a well respected vendor, who happened to be female, to bid on a high-profile project
The President verbally approved the new vendor but asked that she manage the project for 75% less than he typically pays male vendors. 75%!

The Outcome

The Marketing Team told the vendor that she would have to come down on her price significantly in order to win the project. In response, the vendor offered a 20% discount on her original price with some minor modifications, and also came back with an alternative program for a significantly lower amount which did not have all the bells and whistles of the first.

When we posted this story, one of our readers asked, “Did the vendor know she was being low-balled because she was a woman?” Interesting question.

We had a lot of reaction to this posting, and we asked you to tell us what you thought. Here were some of your reactions:

“This story is infuriating, and as a consultant, it never occurred to me that clients knowingly offer 75% less to women vendors. Most of the clients I deal with are female so this wasn’t on my radar. Unbelievable!”

“It is infuriating and hard to believe it’s still so prevalent. My hope is that the vendor will push back hard and get a better offer because if she takes it, she just lowered her product value and it will be very hard for her to go higher next time. A negotiation is expected but this is an offensive offer “

Some people do not think of issues being gender-related, and that may be part of the problem. Clearly it is not always a gender thing but often it is.

It is our job to educate each other don’t you think?

Poker can help by teaching you important business and negotiation skills. Increase your comfort level when negotiating by taking a seat at the poker table.

Poker Divas Manterrupted
Man-ter-rupt-ing (N.): Unnecessary interruption of a woman by a man.

We all remember that moment when Kanye jumped up on stage to “manterrupt” Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs, right?

Did you know women are twice as likely to be interrupted as men are — by both men and women — and more so if they are a member of a minority group? And you know that old trope about the “chatty” female? It’s not true. It’s actually men who talk more than women: 75% more in male-dominated groups like legislatures (and, one might presume, politics).

Are you finding yourself being interrupted? What are you doing about it? We want to know.

Ready to have some fun while learning some important negotiation skills? POKERprimaDIVAS teaches important business skills through Poker while providing participants with a really good time! Don’t take our word for it though.

Poker Divas Team Building POKERprimaDIVAS teaches business & life skills using the principles of poker. You will learn everything you need to know at the poker table to excel at the conference table. It’s not about gambling, it’s about making bold moves, immediately increasing confidence and assertiveness, learning to manage a bully at work, negotiating like a winner, getting more clients, and networking while having fun! We offer: