101: Negotiating A Deal
Any good negotiator will tell you that getting a deal completed — and getting as much as you can out of it — is an art that must be learned. Maybe negotiating is innate to some executives, but many managers hone their deal-making skills over the years and continue to do so. There's no room for emotion or luck. Here are three ways you can be a more effective negotiator:
What You Don't Say Can Make The Difference. In negotiations, “you should, on occasion, consciously create a space or void that will encourage the other person to speak and, in the process, provide additional information,” says an article by Constantine von Hoffman at CSOnline.com. It's a natural tendency for people to fill spaces in a conversation, and that can be used to garner more information from the other party — perhaps information they wouldn't otherwise offer.
Push For Flexibility. Hold your ground if the other party seems unwilling to bend on certain items. “Don't be pressured into accepting boilerplate contracts represented as the 'standard of the industry' or something that 'we always use,'” advises an Entrepreneur.com article by Michael Sanibel. Everything should be on the table for modifications.
Don't Say You're The Final Decision Maker. “For once, be (falsely) humble: pretend like you aren't the person who makes all of the decisions,” advises Mike Hofman at Inc.com. It could be a trap, especially for entrepreneurs, he said. It's better to keep the idea of another decision maker in their heads — someone you need to go to for approval of terms — in case you get cornered. You can say it's a key investor, partner or board member. But at any rate, it can buy you another 24 hours to “get approval” and more time to look over the deal with a fine-toothed comb and make sure your goals are represented.
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Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
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