Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery with Eirik Gislason

In this episode, Eirik is joined by longtime friend and accomplished Corcoran agent Roger Abounader, who takes us inside one of his most challenging transactions. This one lasted over two year and was on the market, off the market, lost for years, and back again. But did it close? We unpack the shifting leverage, competing interests, competing agents, relationship issues, and unforeseen obstacles....

In this episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery, I sit down with real estate executive, industry leader, and Inman 2026 Future Leader and 2025 RISMedia Real Estate Newsmaker Jillian Vaccaro to unpack what she calls the first negotiation: getting the client to choose you. We talk about how buyers and sellers form opinions about our value before the first conversation even begins, what clients ar...

Here's the truth: not every deal is a polished success story with streamers and cake. Some limp over the finish line. Others never get there at all. And with contract cancellations at a three-year high, every deal is really a series of negotiations – some obvious, some subtle, and some that only reveal their importance in hindsight. For the Season Three premiere of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery,...

The negotiation begins much earlier than you think. The question is: can you recognize it? On this Season Two Finale episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery, I'm joined by interior designer Glen Kinnaird, principal of Kinnaird Enterprises and founder of NYC Modern Home and NYC Modern Interior Design, for a fascinating conversation about the negotiations behind design. We talk about why Glen des...

In this episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery, Eirik Gislason sits down with Broadway, television, and touring performer Mike Cannon for a candid conversation about excellence, reinvention, rejection, and the true cost of pursuing success. With more than 25 years of experience on stage and screen, Mike has appeared in Broadway productions and national tours including  West Side Story, A Choru...

In this special Season Two recap of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery, Eirik Gislason is joined by two of his favorite guests: his daughters, Cici and Sydney Gislason. Together, they revisit some of the season's most memorable conversations, topics, and negotiation lessons, exploring ideas about communication, confidence, trust, decision-making, preparation, relationships, and understanding the inte...

In this episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery, Eirik Gislason goes international with guests Haesley Cush and Jared Antin for a fascinating look at real estate negotiation through the lens of the Australian market. From auctions and public competition to buyer representation, access to data, price guidance, underquoting, transparency, and trust, this conversation explores how different market...

In this episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery, Eirik Gislason sits down with Marc Lawrence, Co-Founder of the New York office of World Wide Land Transfer, longtime real estate attorney, broker, investor, title professional, and industry connector. Marc and World Wide Land Transfer are also proud sponsors of the podcast, making this conversation especially meaningful as we explore the mechanic...

In this special Mail Bag episode, Eirik Gislason is joined once again by fan-favorite part-time co-host Jay Billiet as they celebrate a podcast milestone and tackle some of the most thought-provoking questions submitted by their audience, including the ongoing battle over Clear Cooperation, Compass, Zillow, and private listings; negotiating with sellers who stand to lose money on the sale of their...

What happens when two skilled negotiators sit down live at the The Real Deal NYC Forum with no script, no agenda, and a hot mic? You get strategy, best practices, deal insights… and apparently an impromptu Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation. In this special live episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery recorded at the Metropolitan Pavilion, Eirik welcomes back one of the podcast's favorite retu...

What if the most powerful move you could make in a negotiation is saying nothing at all? In this episode of  Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery , we welcome Andres Perea-Garzon, luxury real estate expert and Brown Harris Stevens colleague, for a conversation that challenges one of the most common instincts in any high-stakes interaction: the need to fill the silence. That instinct doesn't just weaken...

In this episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery, Eirik Gislason sits down with NYU Stern Professor Gavin Kilduff to explore the powerful role of rivalry in negotiation, competition, and decision-making. While most professionals think of competition as a function of market conditions, pricing, and deal structure, Kilduff's research reveals something deeper. Competition is relational. When you in...

In this episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery, Eirik Gislason welcomes back returning guest Jacob Feldman for a valuable and practical conversation about one of the most overlooked skills in negotiation: the ability to evaluate the quality of the information we gather before we build strategy on top of it. In real estate and in life, we are constantly surrounded by half-finished stories, load...

In this episode of  Shear Line , Eirik sits down with one of the true icons of New York City real estate, Richard Grossman, for a conversation about collaboration, leadership, growth, and what it really takes to build a lasting career in this business. Richard has mentored generations of agents and shaped the industry through decades of strategic leadership, and this conversation is packed with wi...

On this episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery , host Eirik Gislason sits down with Matthew Wynter of Brown Harris Stevens and host of the Boro4Boro podcast for a powerful conversation on self-efficacy, mindset, and performance. Together, they explore how limiting beliefs quietly shape outcomes, the discipline required to reframe them, and practical strategies agents can use to build confidenc...

We spend a lot of time talking about outcomes in negotiation. Price. Terms. Wins and concessions. But long before any deal is signed, something far more powerful is already shaping the negotiation and the results: company and team culture. In this episode, recorded live at the Inman Conference in New York City, I'm joined by Mike Morgan, a "culture warrior" whose career spans leadership roles at W...

Bullying isn't negotiation. It's intimidation dressed up as competence, and in real estate it shows up as threats, bluster, gaslighting, ultimatums, and false deadlines designed to make you hesitate, second guess yourself, or avoid conflict. In Episode 202, Eirik and Jay break down why these tactics work so well: your nervous system reacts before your logic does, and that split-second hesitation b...

Welcome to Season 2 of Shear Line! Why do some negotiators stay calm, clear, and effective under pressure, while others get reactive, burned out, or settle for less? In this episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery, host Eirik Gislason explores a powerful but often overlooked truth: mindset, emotional regulation, and wellness are not personal bonus features, they're professional strategic advant...

As Season One of  Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery  comes to a close and we wrap up 2025, this final episode explores a simple but powerful idea. Value is not absolute. It is relative. In this holiday conversation, Eirik is joined by Jay Billiet of Jay J. Billiet Interiors, as well as Peter Ronningen and Brendan Williamson of the Excelsior Team at BHS, to examine gift giving as a real world case st...

When clients hit that invisible wall of uncertainty, doubt, or overwhelm, you can feel it — even if they never say it. Their confidence collapses, decision-making slows, and suddenly, forward momentum turns into hesitation, second-guessing, or silence.   In this week's episode, we sit down with negotiation strategist and Executive Director at Brown Harris Stevens, Jared Antin, to unpack a system d...

In this episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery, we're live from the NYC Real Estate Expo in Manhattan breaking down one of the most valuable currencies in real estate and negotiation: CREDIBILITY. Before social media, before likes and follows, Aristotle reminded us that persuasion comes down to three things — emotion, logic, and credibility. And while the platforms have changed, the principle...

In this episode, Eirik Gislason and returning co-host Jay Billiet explore six unforgettable real-world negotiations, from a Fort Greene townhouse won through creativity and trust, to an under-qualified renter with an angry guarantor, and even Southwest Airlines' unconventional value play. Each story reveals a core truth about negotiation: value is a matter of perception. Effective negotiating is a...

When the Plan Falls Apart – How Do You Respond? In this episode of Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery, host Eirik Gislason explores the power of adaptability -- the negotiation skill that turns pressure into problem ‑ solving and fear into forward motion. From the legendary Apollo 13 mission and Gene Kranz's famous question, "What do we have that works?", to the daily pivots real ‑ estate agents face...

Leadership and negotiation have traveled remarkably parallel paths - from rigid, top-down authority and win-lose battles to empathy, collaboration, and trust as the true multipliers of success. In this episode, Eirik sits down with Ben Willig - Managing Director of Agent Growth & Strategy at Brown Harris Stevens, founder of The Willig Collaborative. Together, they unpack how today's best leaders e...

In negotiation, the person with the best intel wins. But here's the catch: most of us walk into the room ready to convince instead of discover. In this episode of  Shear Line: Negotiation Mastery , host Eirik Gislason sits down with industry leader Teresa Stephenson to explore the art - and science - of ceaseless curiosity and strategic questioning. Drawing inspiration from Deepak Malhotra and Max...