Keeping Up with Trends to Win at the Negotiation Table

As a business owner, you know it is imperative that you keep up with trends in your industry. Have you ever considered that keeping up with economic, environmental, and technological trends beyond what’s happening in your industry is equally important? In fact, knowledge of those trends will actually improve your ability to negotiate your next business contract.

Not convinced? Consider that corporations are über-aware of everything, from the politics of their local areas to environmental effects of the weather, to supply chain bottlenecks. They are also aware of how those factors will affect their bottom line. The more you can prove that your business has taken those types of issues into consideration, the more credible you will appear as a potential partner.

Not sure how deep and wide this goes? Take a look at the staff lists of the corporation you’re considering doing business with. Google the corporate name and words like “environment,” “local politics,” “weather” and “logistics and transportation” and you’ll find lots of information about the corporation and that topic. Here are four important reasons why keeping on top of trends will make you a stronger negotiator:

1.???? Expertise. Being able to relate how trends will impact your business and theirs is an important way to negotiate the best alternative for both of you. You can directly relate a trend to a solution that your business can provide.

2.???? Innovation, creativity and novelty. Identifying trends and solutions in a creative and innovative way will be appreciated. Be specific and be sure to cite references and experts.

3.???? Strategic alliances. Keeping on top of and in front of trends will make it easier for you to identify potential strategic alliances. Corporations like to partner with one company that can offer more than one solution. Strategic alliances will also make your business look larger, stronger, more experienced and better suited as a candidate for partnership.

4.???? Flexibility. By nature, trends tend to be long-term, not short-term considerations. It does happen that a predicted trend has a shorter impact than anticipated. By keeping on eye on issues that are important to you and your potential client, you will be in a good position to pivot if necessary. You can even include language to that effect in your contract.

Business ownership can be all-consuming, and many business women work in their business instead of on their business. In other words, they are so focused on running their business that they miss opportunities.

This is why it is so important to join industry groups and to understand your clients’ clients. The good news is that it does not require spending hours and hours doing research. You can set up Google alerts on important subjects and topics. You can subscribe to podcasts that monitor and analyze trends. Your industry groups also provide research and courses you can take advantage of.

A good negotiator creates a win/win solution, and the best way to do that is to be informed, informative and creative.

Contact me if you need some help thinking this through or if you want to hone your negotiation skills. I’m on a mission to help women business owners embrace creative thinking in business.