5 Min Friday! What If You Asked For What You Want Differently

A Rolex sounds like a flex until you hear the real point: cash is usually the most expensive thing on the table. We walk through a simple negotiation truth that changes how you ask for money, raises, and opportunities. When you lead with “pay me now,” you force the other person to feel the immediate pain of parting with cash, and even people who value you will hesitate. So we reframe the question: what can you ask for that costs them nothing today, but becomes valuable once you deliver results?

Jordan Endwards shares how a client relationship turned into a performance bonus and eventually a Rolex as payment, not because of luck, but because the deal was structured around outcomes. We talk about creative deal-making, performance-based compensation, and why an “earned bonus” or revenue-linked upside can be easier to say yes to than a big upfront fee. It’s a practical look at incentives, alignment, and how to create options when a straightforward cash ask stalls out.

Then we flip it back on you: what’s the thing you want that you’ve been too nervous to ask for, a raise, equity, a title, a trip? We explore how to frame that request with clear metrics, a defined target, and a risk shift that puts the burden on your performance. If you’re actually as good as you think you are, this approach can be the cleanest way to prove it. Subscribe, share this with someone who negotiates for a living, and leave a review telling us what you’re going to ask for next.

To Reach Jordan:

Email: Jordan@Edwards.Consulting

Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ejFXH1_BjdnxG4J8u93Zw

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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanedwards5/

Hope you find value in this. If so please provide a 5-star and drop a review.

Complimentary Edwards Consulting Session: https://tidycal.com/m4j6dvm/breakthrough-strategy-session

Transcript

Quick Intro And Big Claim

SPEAKER_00 0:58

It's five minute Friday with Jordan Endwards, where we give you five minutes of information real quick. So I want to tell you guys about how I got this watch. I got a Rolex without paying any money for it. So I want to tell you this because it's not a flex. It's a lesson on how deals actually work. So here's what most people do when they think of a deal: they ask for cash. Cash is the hardest thing for anybody to give you because cash is gone the second they hand it over. It's the most expensive thing on the table. So you ask for the expensive thing and they say no, and you think they didn't value you. They valued you fine. You made it hard for them. Now try this instead. Ask them for the cost, something that cost them nothing today. Future business performance bonus, something that will help you along in your journey. The reason I say this is because that's exactly what I did. I was working with a client, and what ended up happening was we made them more than we than we thought that we could have. And we ended up getting a performance on that. We ended up getting a bonus on that. It ended up being having some upside. And what ended up occurring was I was owed

Why Cash Is The Hardest Ask

SPEAKER_00 2:15

more than what this watch was worth. And they said to me, Would you like a portion of your thing? Because I know you really want this watch. I'm looking at getting rid of this watch. Are you open to taking this watch as payment? And I was like, okay, let's figure out a price, let's see how it works. And eventually we had a few discussions, and that's how the watch ended up occurring. That's how I got the watch because I was owed the money and it didn't have to come out of my pocket. I felt much better about it. And I was really excited to get it. It was something that I've been dreaming of since I was a little kid. Like growing up, you get a Rolex and it means that you made it. It means that you've done something. It means that you're moving and grooving

Turning Results Into A Rolex

SPEAKER_00 2:56

in the right direction. So I say this to you because not every deal is so straightforward. And sometimes deals have to get creative. So when you're trying to work with people, think about how you can get creative with them. The more creative you can do with them where you assume the risk, the more likely they will want to do stuff with you. Because if you make it an easier yes than a harder, you want to make it really hard for them to say no to something. You want to make it super easy. So when you go, I need $200,000 to start working today, they sit there and go, What? Like that's that's not how this works. Because in their system, that that constraint isn't there. So if you do something where it's an earned performance and then you actually do your part, because what you actually want to do is you want to hear what they have to say. You want you know what I mean? And I and I tell you guys this because I want you to realize that getting this wasn't the prize, it's the idea

Make It An Easy Yes

SPEAKER_00 3:58

of what this represents. It reminds me that I'm actually building something and somebody paid me in a way that only made sense because I delivered. It means if I hadn't delivered, then there would be no watch, and that's the whole point of this. So I want to flip this on its head and I want to ask you guys what's the thing you want that you've been too scared to ask for? That raise, that equity, that title, the trip, and what would happen if you ask for it in a way that costs them nothing right now. Pay me when it works. Give me a piece of what I build. If I hit this number, here's what I want. Nobody says no to that because you just moved all the risk onto yourself. And if you're actually good, you think if you're actually as good as you think you are, you wouldn't want this any other way. Moving the risk on yourself is free. So most people negotiate for what's easy to hand over. Winners negotiate for what's easy to promise and hard to earn, and then they go out there and earn it. So go out there and earn it this week and enjoy your

Ask For Upside Instead Of Cash

SPEAKER_00 5:10

five minute Friday.