There seems to be an incredible amount of material available on how to become a really great negotiator. After all, you have to compromise while negotiating, and therefore it’s always a case of “lose some to gain more”. Supposing you had the opportunity to transform negotiating consistently into a “gain more” situation – and stay ahead of the competition, why wait? Read a little further for some rather insightful and charismatic techniques from management training experts, and give yourself the opportunity to tilt every negotiation in your favour.
This task will require that you to do a lot of homework, as you have to learn how to win a battle – without ever stepping foot on the battlefield!
Learn everything you can about the background of the person in question. Look for detailed information about how the individual dealt with other similar situations in the past, and if negotiation has previously been employed several times, bring to light the ways in which he had lost – and point them out to him. This manoeuvre would at least put him off from thinking about using those same tactics on you. Also, brief him about the chances of a “win-win” situation turning into a “win-lose” one, with him being on the losing end.
It’s very rare that negotiations turn out the way both parties want them to. Negotiation can be very time consuming and it’s often a strenuous exercise, and in such situations, it may lead to both of the parties becoming disinterested and losing the initiative to continue. In addition, a lack of interest from either of the parties can rapidly lead to a breakdown, thereby removing any likelihood of an agreement later on. Sometimes, a third party can make out a deal with your suppliers or customers easier than you can, and as there is “no use crying over spilled milk”, why let such a situation ever occur?
Negotiation is certainly not something to run away from, but when it is known that the process won’t help much, it should be held back as a final option. For instance, if negotiation attempts with one of your suppliers or customers have not yielded enough in previous situations – stop negotiating, and try something new. In this kind of situation, one should proceed in a straight forward manner and put forth clear terms. Most business coaching experts agree that this will at the very least save the time and effort which would have been in vain had negotiation otherwise ensued.
Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of the L2L Group, specialising in providing Executive Coaching, Training and Consultancy Services to Businesses across the Globe. Want to learn more about these business success strategies? Get Alan’s popular FREE Business Pack today!
