Why Preparation Is the Most Undervalued Skill in Sales Negotiation (And How to Use It)

**Kayvon Kay** (0:00)
Most people walk into a negotiation thinking the goal is to win. They prep their numbers, they sharpen their pitch, and they walk in ready to take. That is exactly why they leave the table empty.
Today's guest has done what most operators only talk about. Walker Thrash has closed public, private real estate deals that others could not figure out on their own. He doesn't just build buildings, he solves problems by mastering the one thing every negotiator avoids, self-interest. Not yours, everyone's.
On this episode, Walker breaks down how the best deals are never about price, why the most dangerous assumption you can make is walking in thinking you already know what the other side wants, and how the operators who close the biggest rooms are the ones who learn to look in the mirror first. Let's unlock it.

**Kayvon Kay** (1:04)
We're live, today we got Walker Thrash, the real estate negotiator, the tycoon.
I'm happy to have you on the show. I'm excited to deep dive into, obviously, your experience in real estate, but really unlocking, when we talk about unlocking the vault, unlocking those things that must happen, or that must be implemented or employed when it comes to real estate deals and real estate negotiation. Walker, welcome to the show.

**Walker Thrash** (1:34)
I'm happy to be here. Thanks, Kayvon. Yeah, this will be fun.

**Kayvon Kay** (1:38)
Just so the audience knows a little bit more about you, why don't you explain a little bit, tell us a little bit of who you are and how we got to, how you got into this role.

**Walker Thrash** (1:47)
Sure, so my company is called Vertikal, spelled with a K, but we are really, we're a public-private partnering firm. So our emphasis is all real estate transactions, real estate development.
But we really, we don't just build buildings. Our intention when we walk into the room is really trying to solve either a city or at the state level, solve a development problem. We specialize in, I would say if you boil it down, ultimately we try to place risk on the correct sides of the table. And then what sets us apart a little bit from a lot of people that kind of quote unquote consult in the public-private realm is in almost every project, we actually invest all or most of the private capital that goes into the private side of the development.

**Kayvon Kay** (2:41)
Okay.
And how did you tell us the kind of the history? Like how did you get to this point? Because I don't think you just wake up and just start investing and becoming the tycoon of negotiation when it comes to real estate. So tell us a little bit of the history here.

**Walker Thrash** (2:58)
No, my family, my grandfather was involved in both grandfathers in the lumber business. My father, very involved in real estate, mainly in apartments. So I grew up around real estate, real estate deals, talking through that. For years spent time in my family business with my father and younger brother.
But really started to have somewhat of a passion for hotel development, hospitality. We ended up forming a small brand. It was part of the group that's formed a small hotel brand that's in six or seven states at this point.
And what you learn in putting together hospitality projects, because these hotels were full service, had restaurants in the bottom, is that financially a lot of hotels have some kind of public incentive to make them work. So somewhat cut my teeth, putting hotel deals together, learning the public-private nuances, where those buckets of capital were. And really, I'd say more importantly, learning how to navigate the public side of negotiating real estate deals.

**Kayvon Kay** (4:08)
Interesting. Okay. So the navigation on the public side, tell me a little bit more about that.

**Walker Thrash** (4:15)
Well, and I think this is true in private deals as well, but it's highlighted when you're dealing with the public realm.
Because to simplify, no one at the table is at their personal checking account on it. Right? When you're in a public arrangement, these are hired people, either it's city or elected, right? City manager, mayor, city staff, state staff, they're trying to put a deal together. Their number one objective is to execute and deliver on whatever promise they've made. So, what you don't see in the forefront or what I would say is really the tripping hazard in a deal is to make it all about dollars and cents and price, because that's just a commodity in the deal. It's really more about execution, delivering on vision, aligning the party's interest and understanding. And the more deals you do in the public private realm, the more you somewhat kind of understand the intentions and motivations of the different factions or parties around the table.