POWER OF NEGOTIATING!

Before you negotiate with anyone, take the time to understand their personality preferences, as well as your own. Your powers of observation will help you. One widely proven model for personality evaluates only 2 things: pace and focus.

Pace is speed. Consider how fast or slow a person speaks, moves and makes decisions. Compare the pace of others to your own pace. Notice whether you are fast or slow paced. Do you jump into new activities without hesitation? Or do you spend time considering your options? 

Focus refers to attention on either people or data, facts, things. Often certain careers have a central focus. For example: Accountants are often focused on data. If they enjoy their jobs, they are happy manipulating numbers. Nurses and elementary school teachers, on the other hand, often focus more on people. They want to ensure that everyone is taken care of. Be sure to pay attention to your own focus as well. 

Determining your own personality tendencies, compared to that of another, will help you in your negotiations. For example, if you are fast paced while negotiating with a person who is slow paced, you may find that the other person feels pressured, while you feel frustrated. And of course, you will feel pressured if the situation is reversed.  

You can become more powerful in your negotiation by adopting the other person’s pace. If you find it difficult to shift your pace, then acknowledge the difference as part of your negotiation.

Now consider focus. A person who is strictly interested in the data may put a great emphasis on price, amount or other details. A person focused on people, cares about the process. If you take time to understand your focus and whether it is aligned with others, you gain power in the negotiation. 

Understanding personality styles is a worthwhile skill to develop. Providing an oversimplified classification runs the risk of labelling people rather than developing meaningful connection. However, analyzing your own tendencies and how you relate to others is the foundation for building strong relationships and successful negotiation.

Let’s consider another strategy that is used successfully in negotiation.

NEVER say YES to the first offer

This is a strategy best used in a complex sale or negotiation. We know that when you are buying a car, the dealer will never give you the best price to begin with. Only after haggling a bit you might add options and get a price reduction. The next step is to haggle with the finance person who wants to sell extra warranties for additional dealership profit. The salesman wants to close you on the feeling you have in the car and the finance person wants to sell you on numbers and safety like warranties, interest rates and monthly payments.

In a complex negotiation, you may waver. You may want the car, the options and the warranty, but not the price. However, time is of the essence as there may be a scarcity or sale to urge your quick decision. Knowing what is important to you may make all the difference.

Last night I watched the show, Deal or No Deal. It was a very tense show which provided an example of how people react under stress about money. 

A young female entrepreneur wanted to win at least $400,000 to open her vegan ice cream store. After playing the game for several rounds, she was in a difficult position. She could choose to take $108,000 or continue to play and gamble that she would win $400,000 or lose it all.  

Then she was given a very special addition to the offer. A very successful entrepreneur, who had already launched an artisan ice cream brand offered to coach her to start her business. He loved her product and already had stores in 20 states. She could choose to take $108,000 and the coaching OR pass it up and take her chances on gambling for the higher amount.

She recognized that coaching might help her avoid expensive mistakes even though she wouldn’t have her initial goal. She made the business decision to take the lower amount and the coaching. Remember, money is not the only factor in negotiating a contract or business deal or anything else.

Look at all the options on the table. One detail can change your life. In Deal or No Deal, the option only appeared because she took several earlier risks. It takes guts to hang on in the face of a stressful decision. You are not guaranteed to win. But in many situations you will get a better deal on the next go around. Negotiation can be like a poker game. Can you bluff your way through? Are your cards so strong, that you are guaranteed to win?

Be prepared in advance for every detail you think will arise in negotiation. Give yourself a better chance of winning. 

Paul Schumann