Hi Reader,

This week on the Gentle Power Podcast, we invited Latvian wunderkind, Annija Eizenarma.

Annija started her first business when she was 15 years old at a small school in the Latvian countryside, met her business partner at 17, then spent the next six years building a smart home company that she ultimately sold to one of Europe’s leading manufacturers in the building automation system industry. Still hungry after her exit, she moved to San Francisco to find her next career move.

As it tends to go in this city, we met Annija at a renegade dance party in front of the Golden Gate Bridge that Alex DJed.

Annija’s background had every bit of twists and turns that you would imagine a child prodigy’s origin story to have. Our favorite part was that every step of her career was negotiated. Nobody showed up with a golden opportunity, so she asked for each one, usually before she had the credentials (but no shortage of hard work) to justify asking.

Below are our takeaways, plus links to the full episode: YouTube | Spotify | Apple​

1. You don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate

During our conversation, Annija shared a quote that made us both perk up, one that we happen to have on our own website:

“You don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.”

Annija negotiated her way into her first opportunities when she was just in high school. An entrepreneur came to give a lecture, and afterward she walked up and asked if she could help him with his work for free, because she knew he worked for the top entrepreneurial organizations in Latvia. He took her on.

Within a year she'd formally joined the organization and was meeting ten entrepreneurs a day, and he was the one who introduced her to the founder with the smart home idea, which became the company she built for six years and later sold.

But getting the seat is only half of the story. As she put it, "if you're at the table and you don't have your hand raised, sooner or later you will not be at the table anymore."

In practice, plenty of people negotiate to get their job and then get complacent in the role, thinking that their work will speak for itself. But doing good work and making sure the right people notice it are two separate skills, and the second one is what keeps you in the room.

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2. Collect the evidence before you make the ask

The first negotiation Annija described was the one with herself, and it came down to proving she could deliver before she asked for anything. “I always believe that negotiations go hand in hand with execution.”

The proof doesn't have to come from the same field. When she interviews founders before introducing them to investors, she asks them to show evidence of who they are from other parts of their lives. As she put it, “you must have the data that proves that you're extraordinary.”

We'd add that this shows up in your delivery. If you don't believe you've earned the ask, people will pick up on it, and then you're negotiating against your own hesitation on top of everything else.

3. The astute foot-in-the-door trick that won the contract

Annija’s company was pursuing a six-figure subcontract project on the most modern office building being constructed in Latvia at the time. She coldcalled her way up through the developer’s managers until she got the owner of the development company leading the construction on the phone, and he told her no. They already had a subcontractor.

So she offered something else. Her team would review the subcontractor’s project plans for free as a third party and flag anything that could be optimized. The construction company said why not.

Annija and her team found plenty of flags. Annija told the client, “we think your subcontractor is actually screwing you,” pointing at equipment in the design that nobody needed. The client ran it past a second advisor who confirmed it, thanked her, sent the optimization to the incumbent, and had the incumbent implement it.

Round two came when the project proceeded from the design phase to the build phase. Construction runs on bids, and she had seen enough of the numbers to come in under the incumbent on the first phase. Annija’s company won the contract, which was significantly more lucrative than the one they were originally pursuing.

The free audit worked because she knew what the buyer cared about. Construction companies lose their margin to unexpected costs across dozens if not hundreds of subcontractors, so saving them money was their foot in the door, that then gave them the opportunity to bid on the next phase with a leg up.

When you hear a “no”, it doesn’t have to end the conversation. Think about what else you can offer, which can end up revealing useful data points to give you an edge for the next opportunity.

Annija's career arc is one story after another of asking for almost everything before anyone thought to offer it, then proving that she earned it. Give this episode a listen if you want to walk away inspired to aim for goals that feel out of reach! Full episode: YouTube | Spotify | Apple​

Connect with Annija: LinkedIn​

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Warmly,

Gerta & Alex

Founders, YourNegotiations.com

P.S. Are you job searching or have upcoming negotiations?

If you have an offer coming or are mid-process, we’re always happy to help you think through how to approach it. Book a free call here: https://calendly.com/alexhapki/call​

P.P.S. Know someone interested in negotiations?

Send them our way and we’ll thank you with $250 for each person who becomes a client. No cap.

A quick intro or an email to alex@yournegotiations.com works.