Negotiating 101

Dan Putman is the newest addition to our team at Underscore. Dan is fresh out of college, smart and eager.

Today, we gave Dan an assignment designed to hone his negotiating skills - an assignment I was fond of giving young media buyers at K2 back in the day.

We told Dan to leave his wallet, money and credit cards on his desk. We then gave him precisely $2 and told him to go to the Dunkin' Donuts on 7th Avenue and acquire as many Munchkins as possible. Current market price for Munchkins is $0.20 apiece. We told Dan we expect him to come back to the office with more than 10 Munchkins.

While this must seem like a take on fraternity hazing, the folks I gave this assignment to at K2 got very good at negotiating with the Dunkin' Donuts counter clerk. They became masterful at negotiating bonus Munchkins and discounts from "rate card."

What will Dan be able to negotiate on his first Dunkin' Donuts assignment? Tune in to Hespos.com shortly to find out...