David Wither

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Stories By David Wither

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    How This Tech Product Is Making Negotiations Faster Than Ever

    One of the most time-consuming parts of any business deal is the negotiation process. This is something that can take weeks and months to carry out, especially if you're dealing with a business from another country. Efficiency is everything in business, and one product has come onto the market to help target this problem. Technology is helping to address that issue. Parley Pro is one service that has aimed to change the way negotiations are done. I spoke to Lilian Caldeira, Co-Founder and CEO of Parley Pro, to talk about how technology has made negotiations more efficient. David: I understand your Parley Pro product makes contract negotiations faster, so what makes you stand out from other such services? CEO: Parley Pro provides a combination of contract management and negotiation capabilities. It's the only strategy that focuses on the three stages of deal, strategy, and contract. It's a discussion-based platform that encourages collaboration from afar. Teams can build a workflow that helps both parties come to an agreement faster than ever before, and to achieve win-win results. Our discussion board maintains the focus on the key issues and concerns to help negotiations come to a natural conclusion faster. David: How do you make the negotiations go quicker? CEO: Today most negotiations involve a lot of manual clerical work. Going through emails and trying to place each revision into one document consumes a lot of time and effort. Errors also tend to appear when this happens, leading to negotiations taking longer. Most businesses still create contracts in Microsoft Word, which are then emailed to those involved in the deal. Revisions are collected and the contract amended. This cycle can tick over multiple times before a conclusion is reached. And bear in mind that 60% of millennial women don't know how to negotiate, so it's hard to even get started. With Parley Pro, the discussion board leads negotiators through a workflow that targets each key issue and implements each change on a single document. The days of multiple contract versions are over. Discussions on each central issue are aggregated and centralized on the discussion board, so each party can easily address them. Parley Pro is designed to reduce friction and make sure each issue gains the attention it deserves. David: Is there a specific industry or market segment that you target? CEO: Parley Pro is an asset to any business that has to negotiate a contract. It doesn't matter if they're a home owner looking to purchase a property or a Fortune 500 company negotiating a merger. Our first target markets are corporate sales, legal, and procurement teams, but it can be used in any market. David: Where did the idea of Parley Pro originate from? CEO: To start with, I was a VP of professional services. Dealing with contracts involved a lot of Microsoft Word documents being sent back and forth. There were mistakes, amendments, and lots of different versions floating around. It was when I went out to lunch with a client and we went through a contract in person that the idea for Parley Pro struck me. Why couldn't this be done online? But instead of just matching the process of two people sitting down with a piece of paper, we created a piece of software that could do so much more. It was a platform where teams could organize themselves, delegate, and aggregate everything on the same platform. Negotiation is a process, not a thing, so Parley Pro focuses on the negotiating process not managing pieces of paper. David: Do you plan on adding any additional product features in the future versions? If so, anything you can share at a high level or concept stage? CEO: We are constantly adding new features, but the long-term future for us is in artificial intelligence and more automation. As artificial intelligence improves, we expect negotiation software to focus not on the legal side of things, but on the high-level vision of a business. We have already started to move towards this through implementing features that use the same methodologies as artificial intelligence. Ultimately, this is about building a better user experience. Conclusion – Get Down to Business The business world is moving faster than ever before. Long negotiations are not beneficial for either side. And the risk of making a mistake that could invalidate the deal has to be avoided. Parley Pro has shown itself to be a solution that not only makes negotiating deals easy, but doing it in a way that's still legally sound and reduces overall costs by improving the process. This is the future of negotiation and the quicker a deal is concluded the quicker each business can get back to doing what they do best. How do you think the future of contract management and negotiation is going to change?

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    Steve Wozniak And Guy Kawasaki In One Room? Techies Unite

    What is a technologist? Every company should have one. They're the people responsible for making sure new technology is implemented into existing companies. It's a role that absolutely every company should have. It's the only way you're going to reach maximum efficiency and productivity. But even technologists need to get better at what they do. NextCon16 provides the perfect opportunity learn from the best including Steve Wozniak, Guy Kawasaki, and Darin Brown. It's a chance to take your skills to the next level. With 75% of people using social media to find information on big figures, the chances are you've done the same. Now it's time to go further than that. So why should all technologists be attending conferences, especially NextCon? A Chance to Learn from the Best Technologists are often seen as the gurus of their company because they understand the latest technology. But even technologists need to learn from someone. That someone may just be at your next business conference. Attending conferences allows you to gain new perspectives and look at things in a different light. For example, at NextCon16 you'll have a chance to learn from people who have worked for the biggest companies in the world. The agenda is filled with inspiring speakers who have done it all before. Learn New Skills and Get Better at Your Job Conferences aren't just about sitting in a room and listening to someone talk. That's not how people learn, and it's certainly not how technologists learn. Technologists are a different breed because they need practical, hands-on methods they can use because that's what their job is all about. Sessions at conferences like NextCon16 can provide new skills and new attributes to even the most gifted technologists. You can then take these skills back to your company and implement them. They could give you the competitive edge you need in your industry. What About New Technology? Technologists are responsible for implementing new technology into the organizations they work for. This is a hard job, and it doesn't leave much time for browsing industry news. It means many technologists are in the dark about some of the new innovations that have recently hit the market. At NextCon16, you'll be introduced to new technology you've never seen before. This new technology could be the 'aha' moment that may change the way you do things forever. Not to mention, it's a chance to get informed and get better at what you do. Meet New Faces and Make Connections for Life Conferences are not just about the sessions you attend. That's a small piece of what it's all about. Conferences bring together representatives from companies inside and outside of your industry. It's a chance to make connections - swap business cards, shake hands, and organise business lunches. Anyone can tell that making connections in your industry is one of the most important parts of building a successful company. At a conference like NextCon16, you will undoubtedly meet people worth knowing from across the country. Don't pass up on an opportunity to attend a networking event. Ask the Big Questions Conferences have strayed away from the lecture style that used to dominate the agenda. They're now all about being able to interact with the speakers on stage. Technologists can take this opportunity to ask the big questions that they've been wondering about. They're going to get educated answers from experts in their field. Think of it as personal coaching. The information you take away will be invaluable, and it will be a good investment for your company. Last Word – Why Not Attend? Conferences like NextCon16 are a time to learn. There's no reason not to attend because you're going to have a chance to learn from the best and ask them questions. It's an opportunity that could change your organization. Have you ever attended a conference before, and what did you get out of it?

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