Start with No
Jim Camp argues that almost everything popular sales training teaches about win-win and getting to yes is counterproductive, because it trains professionals to chase agreement as a feeling and hand away leverage in the process. His alternative system, built over decades advising corporate negotiators and government clients, starts from the opposite posture. Give the other side full permission to say no, ask calibrated open-ended questions instead of pitching, work relentlessly to understand the other side's real problem, set a mission and purpose outside your own agenda, and refuse to chase. Start with No, published in 2002, is the core trade book from Camp's coaching practice and became a standard reference for procurement professionals, founders, and career operators negotiating against people trained in the traditional yes-first playbook.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Start with No
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Veteran negotiator Jim Camp argues that yes-yes win-win advice gets sales reps run over by trained buyers. His system teaches readers to give the other side permission to say no, and to slow every deal down.
Start with No is Jim Camp's negotiation framework that pushes back on the win-win approach popularized by Getting to Yes. Camp argues that letting the other side say no early creates clarity and leverage.
Reading Getting to Yes first builds context for what Camp pushes back against, but Start with No can be read on its own. Many negotiation readers value both for the contrast.
Start with No was written by Jim Camp, published in 2002 by Crown Business.
Start with No is 271 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Start with No takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
Start with No is a standalone novel by Jim Camp, not part of a series.
Start with No is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.