“When a person with money meets a person with experience, the person with the experience winds up with the money and the person with the money ends up with the experience.” – Harvey Mackay
That illustrates the power of skillful negotiation.
Negotiation is defined as the process of conferring with another so as to arrive at the settlement of some matter. Negotiation is an art. It is a learnable art. Learning and taking action are poles apart. Practice makes it perfect.
The followings are crucial factors to keep in mind:
i. Prepare: Prior planning prevents poor performance. With proper planning and preparation, you can negotiate with confidence and power. Most successful negotiator spent 60-70% of their time preparing for the negotiation process. This is when you set your objectives: identify values, issues, and priorities. Determine what you are willing to give and what concession you need in return. Do your due diligence and gather as much information as you can. Create a strategic plan with supporting information and tactics.
ii. Probe: Once you have set your objectives and prioritized your needs, you are now ready to communicate with the other party face to face. Besides communicating your position, you need to be attentive and listen carefully to your opponent’s needs, and explore their positions. Use assertive language to imply authority and strength. Speak clearly and directly, to strengthen the position you represent. Assertive language is persuasive and it puts people forward.
iii. Propose: As both parties have shared their wants and need, you can begin to propose ideas to solve the differences. Keep all proposals conditional, flexible and brief. Rephrase rejected proposals in positive words. Do not reveal too much of your priorities as the opponents may use them against you.
iv. Trading Concession: Now that you have explored what is the premise of possible agreement, you are ready to move on to the trading concession. Keep in mind your bottom line objective, do not forget the priorities you have set earlier. If you are unsure or do not have enough information about your opponent proposals, ask, justify and lay them all out on the table. You cannot be assumptive while trading concession. Weigh the pros and cons of each concessions. Calculate the relative risk and return.
v. Close the deal: Stay calm and vigilant as the negotiation may have become tense at this point. Watch for any closing clues, words of indication, body language, such as uncrossing arms, open palms, leaning forward, etc.
Last but not least, once the deal is closed, you need to confirm exactly what has been agreed on and summarize all the details on paper.
