DID YOU EVER FEEL YOU WERE OUTSMARTED AT THE NEGOTIATING TABLE

 

NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES YOUR FORGOT TO PRACTICE

 developing NEGOTIATION  as a business skill can be  tricky & treacherous thing!   You mind lapses at the critical moment of reckoning!!!

Business skill building is a tricky & treacherous thing! You mind lapses at the critical moment of reckoning!!!  Then  your learning is just an adornment not a tool for success. The key to success is to sustain and reinforce through  constant re-learning and even a deliberate attempt to unlearn the stubborn old habits.

 

Here are some  tips to help the sales managers to meet the challenges of negotiating. "Challenge" means not taking things at face value. It means thinking for yourself. You must be able to make up your own mind, as opposed to believing everything you are told. On a practical level, this means you have the right to question You cannot negotiate unless you are willing to challenge the validity of the opposing position.

 

GREAT NEGOTIATORS AIM HIGH AND EXPECT THE BEST OUTCOME. 

Successful negotiators are optimists. If you expect more, you'll get more. A proven strategy for achieving higher results is opening with an extreme position. Sellers should ask for more than they expect to receive, and buyers should offer less than they are prepared to pay. People who aim higher do better. Your optimism will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Conversely, if you have low expectations, you will probably wind up with a less satisfying outcome.

Don't be afraid to ask for what you want. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Another tenet of negotiating is, “Go high, or go home.” As part of your preparation, define your highest justifiable price. As long as you can argue convincingly, don’t be afraid to aim high. But no ultimatums, please. Take-it-or-leave-it offers are usually out of place

 

BE ASSERTIVE AT THE ROUGH EDGES

Successful negotiators are assertive and challenge everything – they know that everything is negotiable. I call this negotiation consciousness. Negotiation consciousness is what makes the difference between negotiators and everybody else on the planet.

Being assertive means asking for what you want and refusing to take no for an answer. Practice expressing your feelings without anxiety or anger. Let people know what you want in a non-threatening way. Practice 'I' statements. For example, instead of saying, "you shouldn't do that," try substituting, "I don't feel comfortable when you do that." note that there is a difference between being assertive and being aggressive. You are assertive when you take care of your own interests while maintaining respect for the interests of others. When you see to your own interests with a lack of regard for other people's interests, you are aggressive. Being assertive is part of negotiation consciousness.

SHARE INFORMATION.

We often approach negotiation being very guarded and wary of showing our cards. Yet, while we believe this is a smart approach, it has a negative impact on our outcomes and inhibits trust. Experts in negotiating point out, people tend to be matchers and follow the norm of reciprocity, responding in the same way we treat them. If we want to be trusted, we must first offer it.

Studies have shown that revealing some information, even when it’s unrelated to the negotiation, increases the outcome. You don’t have to put all of your cards on the table at the outset. Simply putting something of yourself out there – your hobbies, personal concerns, or hopes – can set a positive tone that’s conducive to gaining agreement. 

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DON'T BE IN A HURRY. PAY ATTENTION TO TIMING.

 Timing is important in any negotiation. Sure, you must know what to ask for, but also be sensitive to when you ask for it. There are times to press ahead, and times to wait. When you are looking your best is the time to press for what you want. But beware of pushing too hard and poisoning any long-term relationship.

Being patient is very difficult in the hurry of sales negotiation; however if you rush, you are more likely to make mistakes and leave money on the table. Whoever is more flexible about time has the advantage. Your patience can be devastating to the other negotiator if they are in a hurry because they start to believe that you are not under pressure to conclude the deal. So what do they do? They offer concessions as a means of providing you with an incentive to say yes.

FOCUS ON THE OTHER SIDE'S PRESSURE, NOT YOURS. 

We have a tendency to focus on our own pressure, on the reasons why we need to make a deal. It's the old story about the grass being greener in the other person's backyard. If you fall into this trap, you are working against yourself. The other side will appear more powerful. When you focus on your own limitations, you miss the big picture. Instead, successful negotiators ask, "what is the pressure on the other side in this negotiation?" you will feel more powerful when you recognize the reasons for the other side to give in. Your negotiation power derives in part from the pressures on the other person. Even if they appear nonchalant, they inevitably have worries and concerns. It's your job to be a detective and root these out. If you discover that they are under pressure, which they surely are, look for ways to exploit that pressure in order to achieve a better result for yourself.

SHOW THE OTHER PERSON HOW THEIR NEEDS WILL BE MET. 

Successful negotiators always look at the situation from the other side's perspective. Everyone looks at the world differently, so you are way ahead of the game if you can figure out their perception of the deal. Instead of trying to win the negotiation, seek to understand the other negotiator and show them ways to feel satisfied.

A known philosophy of negotiation includes the firm belief that one hand washes the other. If you help the other side to feel satisfied, they will be more inclined to help you satisfy your needs. That does not mean you should give in to all their positions. Satisfaction means that their basic interests have been fulfilled, not that their demands have been met. Don't confuse basic interests with positions/demands: their position/demand is what they say they want; their basic interest is what they really need to get.

 

NEGOTIATION IS NOT ABOUT GOODY-GOODY MORALS

Don’t absorb the counter parties  problems. In most negotiations, you will hear all of the other side’s problems and reasons they can’t give you what you want. They want their problems to become yours, but don’t let them. Instead, deal with each as they come up and try to solve them. If their “budget” is too low, for example, maybe there are other places that money could come from.

Don't give anything away without getting something in return. Unilateral concessions are self-defeating. Whenever you give something away, get something in return. Always tie a string: "I’ll do this if you do that." otherwise you are inviting the other negotiator to ask you for additional concessions. When you give something away without requiring them to reciprocate, they will feel entitled to your concession, and won't be satisfied until you give up even more. But if they have to earn your concession, they will derive a greater sense of satisfaction than if they got it for nothing.

 

 

ANTICIPATE COMPROMISE. BE FLEXIBLE

 

You should expect to make concessions and plan what they might be. Of course, the other side is thinking the same, so never take their first offer. Even if it’s better than you’d hoped for, practice your best look of disappointment and politely decline. You never know what else you can get.

You know your goals and you know where you need to be, so map out multiple ways to get there. If you are going to maintain control of the negotiation, you must be flexible. Giving the other side options will allow them to feel as though they have some control, which will help you reach one of your desired outcomes. Perhaps you can be flexible on terms, a start date or maybe even price. Whatever your goals, there is room for flexibility. Review your biases and adapt as new information enters the conversation to keep from creating a standoff that could lead to an impass.

 

 

ALWAYS BE WILLING TO WALK AWAY. 

 

Never negotiate without options. If you depend too much on the positive outcome of a negotiation, you lose your ability to say no. When you say to yourself, "i will walk if i can't conclude a deal that is satisfactory," the other side can tell that you mean business. Your resolve will force them to make concessions. Clients often ask me, "ed, if you could give me one piece of advice about negotiating, what would it be?" my answer, without hesitation, is: "always be willing to walk away." please note that i am not advising you to walk away, but if you don't even consider the option of walking away, you may be inclined to cave in to the other side's demands simply to make a deal. If you are not desperate - if you recognize that you have other options - the other negotiator will sense your inner strength.

 

Stick to your principles. As a business negotiator, you likely have a set of guiding principles and values that you just won’t compromise. If you find negotiations crossing those boundaries, it might be a deal you can live without. . At the close of any meeting (even if no final deal is struck) recap the points covered and any areas of agreement. Make sure everyone confirms. Follow-up with appropriate letters or emails. Do not leave behind loose ends.

 

 

THE WAY AHEAD:

 

The ability to negotiate successfully in today's turbulent business climate can make the difference between success and failure. Negotiation is one of the most valuable life skills you’ll ever develop. Consider the time you invest in collaborating with new hires, other team members, clients, vendors, and sales prospects and even family members and friends. In all of this, I expect you’ll notice that negotiations are an important part of helping you get the most out of every interaction.

 

These negotiating techniques and tricks hold true for your team as well. Your team represents your business and most likely needs to negotiate to fulfill the requirements of day to day responsibilities. How many members of your team would say they excel at, and can’t wait to get involved in their next negotiation? How about you? Can you say that you excel and enjoy a good negotiation? Move to the next level Become a sales leader empower your team.

 

With best wishes

Dr Wilfred Monteiro