Negotiation is a fact of life. A true businessman knows everything is negotiable. Negotiation, in my opinion is a contest of will and ability to convince the other party and to come out as a winner. It is a win-lose process. I also believe an effective negotiation should meet the needs of both sides across the table preserving a relationship.
Negotiation also determines how we value the other party and what kind of a relationship we want to have with them. It's essential for a good negotiator to know how to build relationships, to understand what another person needs and what he sees as the outcome and get that out cleverly. It's also a trait of a negotiator to stay calm even under pressure.
A successful negotiator knows a thing or two on what's needed and this is what I feel are the support factors of a negotiator:
1) Be Prepared
Every serious negotiation requires real planing, preparation and a great rapport if multiple people are negotiating the same deal. Negotiation is a great art that you can learn through practice. Think of the all the outcomes, work out various possibilities and the benefits of a certain deal. Having an agenda and sticking to it as much as possible will help you to stay well within what your comfort zone and will help achieve the task you had in mind. Staying in a good frame of mind is quite important. Before a negotiation, have a neat meal and head out with confidence. Try as much not to weaken your stand and also try not to show any weakness or fatigue.
Every serious negotiation requires real planing, preparation and a great rapport if multiple people are negotiating the same deal. Negotiation is a great art that you can learn through practice. Think of the all the outcomes, work out various possibilities and the benefits of a certain deal. Having an agenda and sticking to it as much as possible will help you to stay well within what your comfort zone and will help achieve the task you had in mind. Staying in a good frame of mind is quite important. Before a negotiation, have a neat meal and head out with confidence. Try as much not to weaken your stand and also try not to show any weakness or fatigue.
2) Know Your Ultimate
Many times in an negotiation we get so caught in the moment that we forget what our ultimatum is. We often tend to lose track of what we want to achieve in the deal. The best way to go about this is to keep a list of things you want to achieve in the deal / negotiations. Some sort of a road map. Know the client and assess the person you're negotiating with. The style and confidence with which you negotiate will leave a lasting impact. One important aspect of this is to negotiate with a person who can make the final decision, there is no point in negotiating with a person who is just a representative. In all this know the bottom line, negotiate for a reason or make your excuse a strong reason.
3) A Goal High Enough
You are you're own justification, what you want is your desire. Sometimes this may not validate this for the person on the other end, and that's totally okay! Valuing yourself at one end of the table is as important as valuing the person on the other end. Negotiation in other words is compromise, so there can be no deal without a give and take policy. The higher your aspirations are at the beginning, the better you are at closing a deal. Sometimes (most times) it's better to ask for more than what you need. Set right expectations and you shall prevail.
4) Listen and Nod
Only if you are a good listener will you be a good negotiator. Listening here helps you in two things - To negate politely and suggest an alternative if you don't comply with the offer made and also to gather information and understand the mentality of the person across the table. The better you understand a person, the more flexible, creative and comfortable it will be. Remember to respect the good intentions and acknowledge a point being made. Feel free to ask questions and suggest changes, but don't put down the person in the other end. Listen and Speak - helps increase your personal value and that in turns makes you a strong person and the deals will follow.
5) Avoid Emotions
Negotiation is just a show off game and the one who has a higher firepower emerges the winner. Though it can go on for a series of meets and processes where egos and emotions may have a say, it's best to keep it with yourself. No better person to learn this from than Harvey Specter. The more emotional you get attached to a deal, the more it'll drain you out. Any deal is definitely important, but you cant cling on to it. Value the emotions, but avoid it in business.
6) Know When To Shake Hands And Walk Away
There are many cases where you cant get into an understanding with the other person, you need to know that things will not work out the way you want it to always in business. There may also be cases where you'll be embarrassed, not for the deal you offer but simply because the person on the other end does not value it enough. At these times, stand up, shake the person's hand and walk away.
7 ) Patience
You give only 3 options to the other party when you make an offer. They can either - Accept, Reject or Counteroffer. Once you make an offer, wait till they respond, This is in business terms called "Calculated Hesitation". If you begin to re-think before they come back, you're actually negotiating for them. So hold on, give it a pause, wait for them to speak, hear them out. Then go on with the process of negotiating.
Master Negotiator - Harvey Specter (Suits)
Many times in an negotiation we get so caught in the moment that we forget what our ultimatum is. We often tend to lose track of what we want to achieve in the deal. The best way to go about this is to keep a list of things you want to achieve in the deal / negotiations. Some sort of a road map. Know the client and assess the person you're negotiating with. The style and confidence with which you negotiate will leave a lasting impact. One important aspect of this is to negotiate with a person who can make the final decision, there is no point in negotiating with a person who is just a representative. In all this know the bottom line, negotiate for a reason or make your excuse a strong reason.
3) A Goal High Enough
You are you're own justification, what you want is your desire. Sometimes this may not validate this for the person on the other end, and that's totally okay! Valuing yourself at one end of the table is as important as valuing the person on the other end. Negotiation in other words is compromise, so there can be no deal without a give and take policy. The higher your aspirations are at the beginning, the better you are at closing a deal. Sometimes (most times) it's better to ask for more than what you need. Set right expectations and you shall prevail.
4) Listen and Nod
Only if you are a good listener will you be a good negotiator. Listening here helps you in two things - To negate politely and suggest an alternative if you don't comply with the offer made and also to gather information and understand the mentality of the person across the table. The better you understand a person, the more flexible, creative and comfortable it will be. Remember to respect the good intentions and acknowledge a point being made. Feel free to ask questions and suggest changes, but don't put down the person in the other end. Listen and Speak - helps increase your personal value and that in turns makes you a strong person and the deals will follow.
5) Avoid Emotions
Negotiation is just a show off game and the one who has a higher firepower emerges the winner. Though it can go on for a series of meets and processes where egos and emotions may have a say, it's best to keep it with yourself. No better person to learn this from than Harvey Specter. The more emotional you get attached to a deal, the more it'll drain you out. Any deal is definitely important, but you cant cling on to it. Value the emotions, but avoid it in business.
6) Know When To Shake Hands And Walk Away
There are many cases where you cant get into an understanding with the other person, you need to know that things will not work out the way you want it to always in business. There may also be cases where you'll be embarrassed, not for the deal you offer but simply because the person on the other end does not value it enough. At these times, stand up, shake the person's hand and walk away.
7 ) Patience
You give only 3 options to the other party when you make an offer. They can either - Accept, Reject or Counteroffer. Once you make an offer, wait till they respond, This is in business terms called "Calculated Hesitation". If you begin to re-think before they come back, you're actually negotiating for them. So hold on, give it a pause, wait for them to speak, hear them out. Then go on with the process of negotiating.
Master Negotiator - Harvey Specter (Suits)
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| Harvey Specter - Suits |
Negotiation is a skill learned.
The more you do, the better you get.
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