Antony Jones/Getty Images for Spotify
Alex Cooper, host of the hit podcast "Call Her Daddy," recently shared her tips on negotiation — one of which she learned from her mom.
Cooper, who signed a $125 million deal with SiriusXM in August, said in an interview with Forbes on Friday that her top tip for negotiation is to practice the conversation.
"I'm always practicing before I go in because you don't want the thing you're leading with to be your nerves," she said.
Although it's "nerve-racking" to go to someone in a position of power and negotiate for more, "half of business is the way that you're presenting," said Cooper, who launched the advice and relationship podcast in 2018.
At this point in her career, Cooper, 30, said she knows she can walk into any room in business and close the deal.
"Half of it has nothing to do with my business IQ — it's really just my emotional EQ. Half the time, I'm leading with EQ, not IQ, because that's what moves the needle," said Cooper, who also owns a media company targeted at Gen Zs.
"So I think practicing what you want to say to someone, and how you are going to approach it, and how you are being confident and calm—that goes farther half the time than what's actually coming out of your mouth," she continued.
Cooper said she also writes out notes on what she wants to say — a habit she learned from her mom. The next step is to practice out loud.
"That helps, though, because then the first time that you're projecting it to someone, you're like, 'Oh, I've done this so many times,'" she said. "Now you get to practice your swag, how you're sitting, is my leg crossed, am I using my hands, and am I making eye contact? That's how I go about it."
Cooper's three-year deal with SiriusXM is more than double the value of her 2021 deal with Spotify, which was worth $60 million, per Variety.
The deal allows SiriusXM to oversee the advertising and distribution of her "Call Her Daddy" podcast from 2025. It also covers her podcast network, Unwell Network, which includes shows from influencers such as Alix Earle and Harry Jowsey, per a statement from SiriusXM.
Last year, "Call Her Daddy" was ranked the number two podcast globally on Spotify, behind "The Joe Rogan Experience."
The podcast was originally known for conversations about sex, but has since grown to cover a range of topics from body positivity to relationships. It has featured A-list guests such as Miley Cyrus and Hailey Bieber. In October, Vice President Kamala Harris was also a guest on the show.
In the same statement, Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer at SiriusXM, said that the audio entertainment company is the "perfect home for Alex to continue her amazing growth trajectory."
"Alex is the voice of a new generation, and I can't wait to see what we do together in the years to come," he added.
However, industry insiders told Business Insider in August that SiriusXM will only shell out $125 million if her "tremendous value" is fully realized over the next three years.
A representative for Cooper did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.
Negotiating is a critical skill to master, whether to seal a business deal or secure a job offer.
Leigh Thompson, a professor at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the author of the new book "Negotiating the Sweet Spot: The Art of Leaving Nothing on the Table," previously wrote for BI that successful negotiators are "relational" instead of "transactional." This means they treat the discussion as a conversation between people with a shared interest instead of a hard-nosed transaction-focused approach.
She added that negotiators should seek mutual gains for both parties. "Successful negotiators think about how to expand-the-pie and grow-the-sandbox, not just how many toys they're entitled to," she wrote.
When it comes to landing a job offer, Chris Williams, a former vice president of human resources at Microsoft, previously told BI that signing bonuses, higher commissions, more paid time off, and healthcare benefits are among the things to negotiate.
"I try to remember something I once heard: If your counteroffer doesn't make you feel a little guilty — like you've gone a little too far — you haven't pushed enough," he said.
"So negotiate that job offer, and get what you deserve."
