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Our books on Banking Negotiation

For ages, men have been pitting their wits against each other and waging war. Over the centuries, nations have been wiped out, but trade has remained the tenuous thread that has kept them together. Like the arts, trade inhabits all regions and spans the ages. Today, the threat of breaking off trade relations between two nations is as feared as the use of weapons ........ and proves just as effective.

Commerce and mercantilism have a negative image. In dictionaries, you'll find synonyms for the verb "to sell" such as fourguer, refiler, bazarder, trafiquer, fourrer etc. Unfortunately, this is the image given to many young people, often brilliant, who would like to launch their careers.

The book The book covers the history of commerce and sales through different philosophies, cultures, religions and even strategy games. Before tackling sales techniques, the book gives a broad overview of the human component, which is usually left out of (many) sales manuals, which often prefer to use flashy terms such as " dominating the market", " automating success", etc. Above all, a salesperson, like his or her company, must have a personality, an identity and values . These three factors must be consistent with his or her skills and function.

The customer or buyer will want a lot for little money, which is contrary to the laws of economics. So you'll have to negotiate, and every negotiation is unique, it can't be modeled. You'll also have to influence and therefore inspire confidence, which requires a great deal of self-knowledge and knowledge of others, as well as openness and reflection. Then there's strategy, or "what's the best way to reach your objective? There's nothing mechanical about finding the right human and financial distance in a transaction, or discovering buying signals. It requires listening, intuition, skill, know-how, professionalism and the ability to synthesize information throughout the process.

Finally, the different stages of the sale are meticulously described, step by step, along with the steps to be taken and their importance; steps on which the majority of technicians agree. All of this is enriched, among other things, by observations on body language, pedagogy, sales presentations, complaint handling and conflict management. The book is rounded off with exercises, a table summarizing the key ideas of each chapter, and "sales stories" illustrating many of the topics covered. I'd recommend this book to all salespeople, whether beginners or experienced, who wish to discover the reality of this esteemed profession for some, or take stock of their knowledge for others. I would also recommend it to: buyers, teachers and, more generally, to all those who, intellectually curious, are not content to listen to the vox-populi but want to discover who lies behind the world of commerce, because every profession has a meaning.

André Rojo
author and communications specialist

Managing: It's not so long ago that we spoke of "personnel"; today we speak of "human resources". The term is misleading: oil is a resource, but the human being is by nature a far more complex creature. We tend to think of it as a single entity, but this creature is made up of multiple facets, transmitters and receivers. Every word, every gesture, every idea will have a different impact depending on the individual, the facet of the individual or group the manager is addressing. The individual only represents himself, and only becomes great when he is Thinking and acting in such a way as to share this vision with your colleagues is a delicate relationship, requiring a clear professional representation on the part of the manager if a strong identity is to emerge. Experience, skills and qualifications will not make a manager a natural leader. The success or failure of his mission depends on the management of the human capital at his disposal.

"You can move mountains with the motivation of team members".

Learning: Managers have a duty to develop their qualities and skills in order to be credible. They need to draw on their emotional intelligence, take an interest in the deepest motivations of each individual, and seek out the positive, the creative in the position of their interlocutor. Praise for effort encourages the employee to make the next effort. Learning to delegate is one of the keys to success; it's a fine-tuned exercise of one's power, promoting aptitudes and initiatives, in short, exploiting an individual's true potential. However, the manager's path is strewn with pitfalls: leading is not commanding, and delegation must not be seen as an obligation. They must learn to convince, to make decisions based on the right blend of reason and intuition. The manager must tackle each problem as if it were a new project. Managing change, dealing with difficult situations and reprimanding are no mean feats either.

Managers and future managers, take the time to read this book. There are no long developments here, just notes, real-life experiences and summaries. As in a master painting, just the touches of paint needed to make the picture come to life, to reveal what you knew but had never formulated.

André Rojo
Public Relations and Communication

"As the former head of training at a major local private bank, I was able to benefit from Fabien Smadja's extensive experience in employee development. His book "Réussir vos formations - 14 pistes pour penser la formation en entreprise" is above all practical, based on years of experience. The chapter on defining training objectives enabled me to prioritize training objectives, starting with the strategic dimension and ending with the personal dimension. In conclusion, it's a book to have in every Human Resources reference library". 

Fabrice Guélat
former Head of Training, Pictet Group