Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran had some widely-applicable words of wisdom for the audience of CNBC's "Make It" on Thursday. The tip is helpful for everyone from business owners to prospective employees and renters.
“Negotiation,” she says, “really has to do with ego and timing. Much more so than price.” To bring the point home, Corcoran shared that she learned this lesson the hard way.
DON'T MISS: Barbara Corcoran's 'Most Embarrassing' Shark Tank Story Did Not Disappoint
Her teaching moment came nearly 30 years ago at a time when the Shark was looking to sell The Corcoran Group. A potential buyer approached Corcoran with an offer to buy the real estate business, but they rejected her initial asking price.
Corcoran took a couple of days to consider the counteroffer, but when she reached out to respond to the buyer, they abruptly pulled out of negotiations.
Why? The buyer felt that Corcoran's response wasn't timely enough. “I lost the deal [that] was very important to me,” she says. But they don't call Corcoran a Shark for nothin' -- according to her, it only took one loss for her to learn her lesson.
When the real estate company NRT made a $22 million offer a decade later, Corcoran didn't dally. She quickly responded with a counteroffer of $66 million, which NRT accepted.
The 73-year-old real-estate mogul has had a lot of experience learning how to negotiate effectively, including her time as one of the founding investors on "Shark Tank". Incidentally, the superstar investor has another reason to celebrate on March 10, as it's her birthday!
