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5 Secret Tips for Invulnerable Business Negotiations

Guest articles > 5 Secret Tips for Invulnerable Business Negotiations

by: Paul Trevino

If you happen to work in sales or purchasing you are probably very used to negotiating. In these sorts of roles there are many times when it is essential to have developed the appropriate skills. There are many people who engage in negotiating on a daily basis although they may not think of it as such. Every time you need to make a decision on something with a second or third party there will be a level of negotiation and compromise. There are five core principles which need to be adhered to if you want to successfully negotiate on every occasion.

1. Have a clear goal in mind

Every person entering a negotiation needs to know what they expect and hope the outcome to be. To attain success it is important to have a clear goal in mind. The following four questions should assist you in establishing your goal:

• What is the best possible outcome of this meeting?
• What do we need to obtain from this meeting
• What agreement would enable us to leave the room happy?
• Is there an agreed position which would determine whether this meeting has been successful or not?

It is surprising how common it is not to have a goal established prior to a meeting. This makes it exceptionally hard to negotiate. If you, or worse, you and your colleagues do not know what you want how can you ask for it!

2. Control emotions or use them to your advantage

Every negotiation will involve two or more people. These two people will have differing views of the problem and the solution. It can be very easy to take the problem personally and allow emotions to enter the negotiations. This will usually end in disaster. The aim should always be to focus on the problem.

This can be more difficult than it sounds but the following should help:

• Understanding your opponent’s issues and suggested solutions is essential to obtaining a mutually satisfactory result.
• Keep the speed slow. Always make sure you take a breath before answering or making a point. This will help to keep emotion out of the discussion.
• Envision what sort of reaction you will probably get from the other party. This will enable you to resolve an issue before it starts.
• If you all agree on an answer get it into words as quickly as possible.

3. Focus on interests

It can be very easy to go into a negotiation process having already decided your position. If this happens and you stubbornly stick to it there can be no successful outcome to the negotiations. Any meeting will involve compromise to enable both parties to leave the room happy. By focusing on the issues you will ensure both parties are aware of the problem and looking for solutions.

4. Options which benefit both parties

Prior to any meeting it is essential to attempt to understand what the other party would like to obtain from the meeting. This will allow you to tailor your proposal to their needs. More importantly, it will allow you to suggest viable solutions which will prove beneficial to both parties. If you can suggest a solution which provides a reasonable gain for both sides it will be very difficult for anyone to say no.

5. Have a plan B

This concept may seem as though you are preparing to fail. In fact, it is simply ensuring all options are open. It is essential to be prepared for the negotiation to end in a stalemate and know what other options are available to you. This will ensure that, if you have to, you can walk away empty handed rather than taking any offer as something is better than nothing. The last thing you need is to be stuck in a meeting with no options open and unable to adjust your position for fear of becoming worse off. The best alternative is to ensure you have a back-up plan.

Dealing with challenging, unassailable negotiations can be nerve-racking. The key to success in this scenario is to enter meetings prepared. Engage in a fruitful conversation and build a relationship. Don’t just chase the money, and by no means adopt unethical strategies to win.

By Paul Trevino and TheGapPartnership.com!

Contributor: Paul Trevino

Published here on: 7-Jul-15

Classification: Negotiation

Website: TheGapPartnership.com