Negotiations are an essential part of working life – from making the case for a pay increase, to working out which team members will complete which project tasks, to trying to get a better deal from a supplier or win a new client. Negotiating can be understandably daunting for some, but these four tips can help you improve your chances of a successful outcome.
The secret to negotiation: Know what you want before going in
It’s vital that you’re clear on what you want out of a negotiation before you come to the table. If you’re unsure about your objective, how do you think you’ll fare? If you don’t have a clear goal, how will you know if you’ve achieved it?
For example, say you’re keen to negotiate a pay rise, but haven’t settled on a dollar figure before approaching your manager. You might accept your manager’s offer but you could have second thoughts later on.
Being specific and confident about the outcome you’re hoping for will have you entering the negotiation from a position of strength. It will also help you clarify what you are – and are not – willing to settle for when you walk away from the table.
Consider the other person's point of view
Another way to boost your bargaining savvy is to practise empathy for the people with whom you’re negotiating. By looking at the interaction from their point of view – their pain points, their hoped-for outcome, their risks in giving you what you want – you make it less a me-versus-them scenario and more a collaborative win-win situation. With your better understanding of their position, you can carefully consider their concerns and proactively address those issues in the negotiations.
Keep in mind, however, that your empathy must be more than just lip-service; you should demonstrate a genuine interest in the other party’s perspective. Otherwise, it doesn’t make you a better negotiator – it just makes you appear insincere.
Play to your strengths
What’s your strong suit? Use it in your negotiation. Not sure what your strong suit is? Ask others what they perceive as your strengths.
For instance, maybe you’ve got a great sense of humour. Though negotiations are often serious business, your comic side may be just the thing to break that transactional tension and get discussions moving in a positive direction.
Perhaps you’ve seen a vast improvement in productivity by creating a new process – use those specific examples or actions to support your case. Or possibly you’re the only business in town selling an in-demand product, so make that known. Find and leverage your strengths.
Why good negotiators are good listeners
To become a better negotiator, you must first become a better listener. With listening comes more information, and the more information you have, the better negotiating position you’ll be in.
Plus, listening not only provides you with opportunities for practising empathy (see above), but also buys you time to carefully consider what the speaker is saying before you respond. It generally makes for clearer communication.
To hold a brainwriting workshop, start by posing a question or presenting a problem to your group of brainwriters.
To maximise your listening skills:
- When someone else is speaking, don’t use the downtime to formulate an argument while awaiting your next turn. You might miss a critical detail that could help you later in the negotiation. Instead, really hear what the other person has to say.
- Don’t interrupt other people. It’s impolite and only portrays you in a bad light. Plus, again, you might miss something crucial – and now you may never know what they said.
- Eliminate distractions. Turn your smartphone to silent and hold the negotiation in a disruption-free environment.
Now all that’s left is to put your upgraded negotiation skills into practice. You’ll soon reap the rewards of achieving better results, improving your work relationships and resolving those sticky workplace disputes.
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