How to Seal the Deal and Own Today’s Negotiation

Negotiation...few businesses can survive without it yet few people feel completely comfortable doing it (not even the ones who say they do!). Attempting to get to a ‘yes’ or seal the deal that you’ve put blood, sweat and tears into orchestrating can feel as heavy as your boss’s body weight on your shoulders. You know that every word you do or do not say; every move you do or do not make and every pause you do or do not take will influence whether your company benefits or loses. The pressure’s enormous.

Here are our top tips on how to be a superior negotiator- based on over 30 years of providing training resources:

1: Keep Your Cool

Figure out where your “hot buttons” are so you can maintain composure during the negotiation. When you’re calm and objective you can focus on listening to better understand what’s happening. This will put you in a much stronger position than you would be by responding to the little voice in your head with its negative messages.

2: Prepare

It’s an obvious piece of advice to give, yet so many negotiators try to “wing it” on the day. The next time the term “wing it” comes into your mind, remember that you do not have two feathery flying-mechanisms attached to your body which means you’re likely to fall “flat on your face” when you try to fly without a supporting harness. Do the homework that provides the data for objective decision-making. Having the facts at your fingertips means you will know when your negotiating partner is being upfront or trying to pull fast!

3: Avoid the Red Herrings

Tough negotiators (if you haven’t encountered one yet, you will do!) will sometimes try to railroad a discussion by throwing in off-putting or irrelevant comments. Don’t bite! Keep the discussion on track and avoid the blind alleys that these can sometimes take you down. Ask the negotiating partner to clarify what they mean in these situations - that’s often the point that they withdraw what they just said…

4: Don’t Assume “Stalemate” Status

 Sometimes it seems as though there is no way forward in a negotiation, but there always is – it just requires you to step back a little bit and try and find some creative options. Take off the blinkers and try to get your negotiating partner to do the same.

5: Find a Common Ground

Most negotiators find the process stressful to some extent (or a lot!) and it helps if you can spend a little time building common ground and getting to know your negotiating partner before getting into the intensity of real negotiation. Take the time and make the effort to build a strong foundation for your negotiation – after all; it’s what all the hard work you’ve done so far has been for.

The acclaimed Negotiating Style Profile (NSP ) has been a consistent best seller of ours since we added it to our extensive catalogue. If you or any of your staff have ever lost a sale, fallen at the final hurdle or simply want to be more effective negotiators (and who doesn’t?) then this is the resource to add to this year’s “to do” list.