Negotiating and Deal Making With Shanelle G.

Negotiation and deal making is a very important part of the entertainment industry. Contracts have to be negotiated, endorsements have to be made, and everyone needs to be on board. For Shanelle Gabriel, an up and coming artist, it is very important to negotiate to the best of her ability in order to get the best possible deal. Shanelle Gabriel has been an artist for five years. She has been able to tour the country, and was even featured on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. Through her journey to success she has many negotitation tactics that she uses to get what she needs.

Question 1: How do you separate the people from the problem when you are negotiating?

First I determine what they are trying to get out of it? What are their incentives? Then I ask myself what I am trying to get out of it and I use both to negotiate for both parties to be content. It is important to acknowledge that everyone wants something.

Question 2: How do you handle positional bargaining tactics?

Knowing what I want and having the facts to back it up really helps when haggling. If you go into a negotiation with nothing to back up why you want something it is easy for people to walk all over you. I keep a strong head, but I also allow myself to be open to change. I want the best possible deal so I always set a high bar so that I at least end up with an average deal that is more reasonable to what I would want.

Question 3: Can you give me an example of how you worked toward mutual benefit when you were negotiating a deal?

I have an upcoming show this month and the person who hired me happens to be really close to me. Of course because of our personal relationship he wanted a break on the price that I was charging but this of course was not negotiable. He thought I was trying to break his pockets but after explaining my expenses and what I would actually make, he understood why I had to charge him so much. I gave a higher number because I knew he would try to get me to do the show for a lot less, by doing this I was able to get the perfect price that I needed to pay for my expenses and make a decent profit.

It is important to know that negotiation requires confidence, preparation, and facts to back up your claim.