How An Open Mindset Ensures Successful Negotiations with Kris Tait

Kris Tait is the Managing Director, US at Croud. He's spent the last 12 years building his career in sales with the company, and has seen it grow from 5 to 500 employees in that time. His journey from a shy child to a sales expert even includes a unique stint with Butlers in the Buff. He credits an open mindset and strategic storytelling as keys to his success.

We’ll hear from Kris about how he became the sales professional he is today, discussing the power that his open mindset brings to procurement and negotiations. Kris also shares insights on the importance of having a collective mindset in business growth, why strategic storytelling is useful, and the art of building relationships before a negotiation even begins. We wrap up with a discussion on the evolution of procurement outcomes.

Topics covered during this episode include:

• What Kris’ childhood looked like due to his shyness at the time.
• Why Kris believes an open mindset is crucial in procurement and negotiations.
• How to predict and qualify opportunities from both casual client briefs and official RFPs.
• Why pricing strategy is the secret sauce to Croud's discovery process.
• How calculated risks and strategic storytelling can set an agency apart from the competition.
• Understanding the evolution of outcomes being a key aspect of procurement.
• The importance of building relationships before a negotiation begins to increase receptiveness.
• What it was like being a Butler in the Buff.
• Why diagnosis matters when tackling briefs in sales and negotiation.
• The role of collective mindset in scaling Croud from 5 to 500 people.
• How Kris's sales journey has been influenced by the mindset of Croud's founders.
• The benefits of strategic pricing, and who Kris learned about this method from.
• How to approach procurement with an open mindset to ensure successful negotiations.
• The importance of providing evidence in negotiations and being open to challenges.
• Dealing with price increases by leading with data and logic.

Kris Tait on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristophertait