1) Recognize Negotiation Opportunities: Our day-to-day life is filled with negotiation opportunities, right from the start of the day when we ask family members to help us with daily chores, to bargaining with shopkeepers and cracking crucial business deals at work. We negotiate all the time with friends, family members, colleagues, seniors at work and a whole load of other people we meet every day, but the problem is that most people don’t realize that they’ve just concluded a successful negotiation for most of these daily tasks. The first step towards effective negotiation is recognizing negotiation opportunities both in everyday life and at work. Practicing through small tasks can help you prepare yourself for bigger negotiations at work.
2) Decide What All is Negotiable: After you’ve recognized the negotiation opportunity, draw up a list of factors that are most important to you and decide what you are and aren’t willing to compromise on. For e.g. – for a sales executive the key factors to be decided beforehand are – price, payment terms, volume or delivery dates, etc. The key is to establish your preferred outcome even before the negotiation starts and then prepare for it.
3) Prepare Well: Pete Plotas, Vice President of RollStream – a McLean-based company that makes software to help companies collaborate – creates his own preparation sheet to guide his efforts in his international negotiations when building strategic partner networks, which he claims, greatly helps him throughout. According to him “If you do prepare, you’re way ahead of the game.” Plan your strategy in writing before beginning negotiations, this will help you set clear goals and understand where to draw the line while negotiating and what outcome you wish to focus on.
4) Have Another Alternative Ready: In the competitive world of business, it always a wise option to have a backup plan ready. If your best negotiation plan fails to convince the other party, be ready with a substitute. According to Tom Parsons, Senior Management Adviser for Darcars Automotive Group – “So many people go in to ask for a raise with no alternative in mind. They haven’t even looked to see how marketable they are. “Having an attractive alternative gives you strength in asking for what you want”.
5) Build Trust: Successful negotiations are often those where a middle path, favorable to both parties has been agreed upon. For this, one must treat every negotiation as a potential relationship building opportunity. Then, you’ll go looking for areas of mutual interest and opportunities to collaborate, thereby leading to a triumphant negotiation. And this is where, the trust factor also comes in – when you are considerate to the other party’s opinions as well, you stand to gain their trust by projecting yourself as a fair player. Also, never underestimate the importance of smaller details like making curtsey calls, maintaining commitments and following timelines. “If you say you are going to call them back the next day, then you need to follow up. If you can’t be trusted on these small things, then why would they trust you on the larger things?” says Donna Blackman, Vice President at Marriott International.
6) Handle Difficult Negotiations with Élan: Remember that business negotiations can take any course. Learn to control your emotions and remain calm during difficult meetings. This is where having good listening skills and paying attention to the other party’s opinions can be a big bonus and will help you reach common grounds more easily
7) The Magic of the ‘Walk Away’ Power: Sometimes it’s better to walk away from an unprofitable business negotiation rather than make too large a concession or give huge discounts on your product or service. At times, walking away can also make the other party realize that you would not be able to make any further concessions and they might just agree to your proposition. This negotiation tactic is quite useful for sales executives as it gives them more leverage when dealing with difficult customers. However, before you walk away, remember that there will always be someone else trying to provide the same value proposition, in place of you.
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