Negotiation & Deal-Making: Interview with Nick Sambrato

Harvey Robbins once said, that when it comes to the art of negotiation, one must “Place a higher priority on discovering what a win looks like for the other person.” This is a lesson that all would be wise to learn. Too often people commonly see a negotiation as a bit of a forced compromise. However, in reality, this could not be further from the truth. As I have learned in my current Negotiation and Deal Making course at Full Sail, “negotiation is a problem solving opportunity,” which more often than not means learning to see a situation from another’s perspective.

This month, we were given the assignment to interview an individual from the entertainment industry who is adept in negotiating and deal making within their field. My first thoughts were: “Oh boy, who in the world am I going to interview?” Part of the beauty of living in Orlando is that this area is full of all facets of the entertainment industry. Right in the heart of Winter Park is a creative studio whose impressive portfolio of work caught my eye. What is this studio, you ask? Fiction.

Image via Fiction Pinterest Account

This week, I was able to sit down with Fiction’s VP of Business Development, Nick Sambrato, who graciously let me bombard him with questions, and in turn shared with me a wealth of knowledge that can only be gathered from years of experience. Earning both his Bachelors and Masters degree in Communications, from Flagler College and Rollins College, respectively, Nick has worked in the entertainment industry since 2005, when he partnered with a friend to open a small record label. Nick went on to sell his portion of the record label and open a letterpress and silkscreen print shop called Mama's Sauce. In fact, it was through the production of a product and service video that Fiction produced for Nick’s company that ultimately led him to later become the VP of Business Development at Fiction. If you are anything like me, you may be wondering what being a VP of Business Development entails. Look no further, my friend, here is the short list of responsibilities, according to SmartRecruiters:

·      “Develop new business and strategic partnerships”

·      “Foster, promote and facilitate cross-selling of company-wide services and capabilities”

·      “Contribute to the strategic planning and execution of all sales, marketing and public relations activities”

In essence, the VP of Business Development is the dealmaker.

In Negotiating and Deal Making, we focus a great deal on separating the people from the problem in order to solve the issue at hand. In my interview with Nick, I was curious as to how he approached handling situations of this in his profession. He shared with me that for him, it is more of an issue of “systemic vs. non-systemic.” Going on, Nick used a great example to help explain his approach. Hypothetically speaking, let’s say I work for Nick and I make a mistake, he is going to look at the system and the series of events that led up to that problem to figure out the root of the issue was; for example, did I have too much on my plate? Did he fail me in some way? Et cetera. Anyone who knows me knows that putting things into a story may be the number one way to capture my attention, and help me understand the principle being explained. Rather than simply looking at where I made a mistake, Nick’s approach looks at where in the process the mistake was made and what caused that particular problem so that it might be prevented in the future. This attitude reminded me of an article that I read recently in Forbes entitled, Good Employees Make Mistakes. Great LeadersAllow Them To. In essence, as humans, mistakes are unavoidable, however, great leaders and great negotiators recognize that putting aside emotions and looking for the root of the issue is the only way to make progress and solve a problem.

Another topic we discussed was the matter of tricksters, and those who are less than forthright when negotiating a contract or coming to an agreement. Nick had three great points that can be applied throughout life to help nip these situations in the bud: leave a paper trail, go with your gut and expectation is king. This first thing Nick said when I asked him this question was a quote by Martin Lomasney, “Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink.” After telling me this quote, Nick said that in these situations of dealing with tricksters reverse Lomasney’s entire statement, meaning get everything in writing! Leaving a paper trail ensures that you have all of your bases covered in the event that you find yourself in a position where someone claims something was or was not said or agreed upon. In fact, Nick said that he still has every email he has sent and received since 2003 – that is one impressive paper trail. The next point Nick made about dealing with tricksters was straight to the point: go with your gut. More often than not, when someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes, or someone is a snake in the grass you get that uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. If that feeling shows up, it is wise to heed it. And lastly, when it comes to the sneaky snakes, you can avoid a lot of trouble by setting expectations and enforcing those expectations. Nick shared that the one thing he may say more than anything else is “Expectation is king.” When you have established the proper expectations, everyone knows what they are striving for and what is expected of them, and you cannot be afraid to implement those expectations that were agreed upon.

Lastly, Nick shared a great deal of insight with me on how rate structures in the world of entertainment work and vary based on the unique requirements and deliverables of each project. One question that came up was whether or not there was a rate difference when working on national projects opposed to regional projects. Nick was quick to reply: no, keep rates to the standard that you have set. When it comes to negotiating your rates, never go up. Sometime, the occasion will arise where it may be beneficial to go down on your rates for a particular project in order to build a lasting professional relationship. Nick went on to elaborate upon the ethical side of this situation, saying that increasing your rates simply because you know a certain project or client has deeper pockets simply is not right. In an industry, that is so rarely known for men and women who take a stance for what is right, it is refreshing to meet men like Nick and the folks at Fiction are not afraid take the high road – and because of this, they truly do stand out from the crowd.

All in all, in the relatively short time I spent with Nick, I learned more than I could have imagined. Negotiation is an art that all who enters into business must learn and become skilled in. After all, every project you are ever involved in is going to requite a contract, an agreement and probably a negotiation of some kind. Hearing the application of what I have been learning in class through the insights of someone in the entertainment industry was a wonderful way to connect the lessons from the classroom to the business world. That said, I am so grateful for all that I was able to learn from Nick, not only is he a wealth of knowledge, but the man gave me a box Girl Scout cookies before I left – as far as I am concerned, interviews just do not get any better than that!