Trump: How to Get Rich

Be Reasonable and Flexible

A good negotiator must be flexible to be successful.

When I bought 40 Wall Street, it was virtually vacant. I told the existing leasing broker, a friend of mine, that I was going to renovate the building and get tenants. I offered him the chance to be my exclusive rental agent. The broker had been the agent for the previous owners of the building, who had been having big problems getting tenants. He was so sure I would fail that he said he would take the job only if I would pay him a retainer of $60,000 per month, starting immediately. He said he would deduct his future commission from that guaranteed fee.

His offer was impossible for me to accept. I owned a vacant building with existing losses, and the broker, who had been unable to produce in the past, was asking me to pay cash up front. I told the broker that his offer showed a total lack of faith in my ability to be successful—a broker getting paid without producing a tenant was unheard of.

The broker remained inflexible in his position. We parted company.

I hired another high-quality broker, who willingly accepted the opportunity on the usual terms—no lease, no commission. I renovated the building. The broker made millions in commissions in the next two years. The original broker’s inflexibility cost him a small fortune, plus he lost any future business from me.