Negotiating 101

POWERFUL NEGOTIATING… there are some amazing experts who negotiate for a living. They work in almost every field imaginable. Labor negotiators, corporate negotiators, political negotiators, peace negotiators, etc. A successful Sales Business requires a tremendous amount of negotiating skill. Price, terms, delivery, quality, etc… it all comes under scrutiny… “everyone wants a deal”. Powerful negotiating definitely requires technique and strategy. Here’s some ideas…

Five Negotiating Strategies

1.  Do Not React… in this case no emotion is much more powerful than the alternative. The minute you reveal your feelings without going through the process, you lose power. Once you lose power you have nothing left to work with.

2. Disarm Your Opponent… breakthrough their resistance and hostility and get them to listen. Until everyone is listening, no progress will be made. Sometimes just letting the other party “blow off steam” is the first step. Until they have defused their emotions it is very difficult to move forward.

3. Change the Game…adjust the approach from one of “not bargaining because of your different positions” to exploring ways to “meet the interests of both sides colaboratively”.

4. Make It Easy to Say Yes… bridge the gap between their interests and yours. Find a mutually satisfactory position. Help them save face and have of the outcome appear as a victory for the other side.

5. Make It Hard to Say No… create an environment where saying no is a step backwards. Your offer/position needs to be presented as a benefit to the recipient. Help them see the upside in what you are bringing to the table.

Critical Point: The top negotiators are not bullies! There is a definite psychology in putting a deal together. Often times Salespeople become belligerent and resistant when things do not fall into place quickly. Remember the three P’s… Professionalism + Personality + Persistence. You always want to be able to look back and take pride in how you conducted yourself in the heat of the moment. Be a “Dealmaker”… be one of those Salespeople that every once in a while people ask “I can’t believe you put that deal together, how did you make that happen?”. NO Excuses.