Usually when we talk about negotiation, we think of 2 parties, with long faces and a long conference table, the climates are intense and hostile, it is a battle that no one wants to lose. But in reality, negotiation is a process that trying to achieve agreement, create terms that favor both parties, at least to an extent where both can compromise on. It is an indispensable skill in life and in business setting. We negotiate to buy a cheaper car, a higher salary, we basically negotiate to get what we WANT.
Negotiate is different with arguing or fighting verbally. It can be as pleasant as you can think of if both the parties are committed in achieving something. Here are some basic negotiation skills that I picked up on a workshop the other day.
1. Prepare before you negotiate
Know your bottom line. Know what you want. Know who is the person you dealing with. By knowing your bottom line, you know how far you can compromise if needed. If you cannot compromise no matter what(unless you have leverage), don’t bother negotiating. Remember, the other party wants to win too. If you know what you want,you will be focus during negotiation. By knowing who you negotiating, you can adopt a special strategy later.
2. Climate setting
Don’t show you are hostile when you meet someone you planned to negotiate with. Be as friendly as possible and show that you are open for negotiation. Watch your tone and body language carefully when you first meet your opposite party. Observe their body language as well and act accordingly.
3 . Techniques
Some of the low risk negotiation techniques are flattery, addressing the easy point first or inflate opening position(commonly used by seller by inflating the initial price to allow the customer to negotiates).
High risk techniques will be showing temper or “take it or leave it”.
4. When negotiate, never expose your urgency.
You might want to sell your house asap as your banker is coming over you due to your recent mishandling of cashflow issue. Never tell that “hey I am heading to a financial wreckage. I need to sell this asap.” Your smart prospective buyer will use that as an advantage over you.
5. Don’t push the other party to hard. COMPROMISE!
The problem with us is that we hate to lose. We don’t compromise because we think the other party should do that instead. We want the best deal of our dream.
Good example is salary negotiation. The HR manager can only offer you so much. No matter how good a negotiator you are, you can’t squeeze anymore out from him/her. Now you can either compromise or just leave the table.
6. LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN!!
God gave us one mouth but a pair of ears not for no reason. Listen to what the other party wants. Listen and then offer solution. Don’t just state what you want from them. It is a 2 way conversation.
