Recently,
at about 3:53pm on a Saturday evening, I had a chance to speak to Thako Rucker
from Fox 5 about negotiation. Thako Rucker is a mentor and a friend of mine and
based on our history of working together, I plan to have a long-lasting working
relationship with this individual. As long as I have known him, he has been in
media. At the time, I was just in my second year of college studying for my
Bachelors degree in Audio Production. Let me inform you, for a second, a little
background information of Thako Rucker. He is a producer at Fox 5, he has done
work with Tourist Media, has been in the industry for about 15 years, worked in
media sales, and every aspect of media that you can think of, he has done it.
The reason for this topic of negotiation was for my class. The questions were
just like the questions I have asked a previous interviewee about negotiation.
Some of the ways Thako answered were a bit similar but then again very
different according to his field of work. In this case, the questions and
answers to the questions are listed below from the interview between Thako and
I:
Alicia: Hey Thako. I was wandering
if you will take a moment out of your time for an interview between you and I
about negotiation?
Thako: I have a meeting in a few,
but I guess we can see how much we could get done in this short time. Let’s go
for it!
Alicia: Okay. Question number
one…how do you separate the people from the problem when you are negotiating?
Thako: Business is business and to
do what is fair businesswise. Never let emotions get in the way of business.
Alicia: How do you handle positional
bargaining tactics?
Thako: In my position as a
producer, I do not handle many positional bargaining. We only deal with rates.
There is not a lot of room for negotiating.
Alicia: Can you give me an example
of how you worked toward mutual benefit when you were negotiating a deal?
Thako: As mentioned earlier, there
is not a lot of negotiation. There is, perhaps, a fair rate and clients already
know what they want and need.
Alicia: What are your key goals in a
successful deal?
Thako: For clients to feel like
they got what they paid for and that they are completely happy and satisfied.
Alicia: How do you keep all of your
clients happy?
Thako: You can’t keep them all
happy just do the best that you can do. If you try to fulfill all their needs
they usually know what to expect in a project.
Alicia: What would you consider I do
to prepare myself for negotiating and making a deal?
Thako: Know your industry, stand your ground,
and know the person you are dealing with.
