Ignite Psychology: How to Win High-Stakes Negotiations and Close Better Deals with Alex Adamo | Ep292

Alex Adamo says he currently manages or advises on $6.5 billion of negotiations, including deals worth $50 million to $500 million.Alex is the chief negotiator behind The Commercializer, a London-based firm that supports Fortune 500 companies on large commercial negotiations. He says he has trained tens of thousands of people and created roughly $22 million in value on a billion-dollar negotiation that took six months.Most founders know how to sell. Alex argues that far fewer know how to negotiate. The mistake starts when founders prepare the deal but not the negotiation, assume years of commercial experience make them skilled negotiators, and optimize for getting a signature instead of maximizing the economics.His most counterintuitive claim is that “win-win” is overrated. In complex partnerships, creating value for both sides makes sense. But when a billion-dollar negotiation has one meaningful variable, such as price, there may be no creative outcome that lets both parties win equally. In those cases, Alex focuses on breakpoints, leverage, anchors, concessions, threats, behavioral signals, and the willingness to say no.The conversation also looks at what AI could do to negotiation itself. The Commercializer has built AI-powered tools including iDamo, an advisor based on Alex’s negotiation methodology, along with systems designed to assess and train sales teams. Alex expects AI to eventually participate directly in negotiations, potentially leaving human decision-makers behind the scenes while automated negotiators handle more of the interaction.In Today's Episode We Discuss:00:01 – Alex Adamo and the path to high-stakes negotiation02:48 – Studying human behavior and body language05:14 – Managing and advising on $6.5 billion in negotiations07:36 – Building AI-powered negotiation tools and iDamo10:00 – Why AI could eventually replace human negotiators12:11 – The difference between selling and negotiating14:12 – What founders and VCs get wrong about negotiation15:59 – Maximizing the deal versus simply closing it18:30 – Balancing deal economics with long-term relationships22:14 – Why win-win negotiation can break down26:10 – Reading breakpoints, shifting power, and using threats31:08 – Anchoring and context bias in negotiation36:52 – The negotiation Alex believes he got wrong40:54 – Rapid-fire negotiation lessons41:09 – Why “yes” can be the most expensive word42:13 – The physical tell that can signal someone is ready to fold43:58 – Why win-win is the most overrated negotiation tactic44:49 – What to do when you know the other side is lying46:34 – What founders over-negotiate and under-negotiate46:55 – Creating leverage when you have almost none48:52 – How negotiation differs across cultures51:53 – Creating roughly $22 million in value in one negotiation53:44 – The Negotiator’s Mindset and performing under pressureAlex explains why he prefers anchoring first when you understand the market, how a slight nod can tell him to stop conceding, and why exposing a bluff can be worse than quietly banking the information. He also describes the “puffer fish” approach to perceived leverage and a failed client strategy where the board lacked the risk appetite to follow through once retaliation started.At its core, negotiation is an old problem of power, information, perception, and self-control, now increasingly being mediated by AI.Pull Quotes“Closing the deal is the worst case scenario for us as negotiators.”“There's no win-win, and you just don't do win-win. You just go win lose.”Follow Alex Adamo on LinkedIn: inLinkedIn Alex Adamo on X: XX Watch, listen, and follow on your favorite platform: Website Join the conversation on your favorite social network: Link Read the full episode breakdown on our blog: Website