Negotiation is the act of finding a rational solution to a situation for all the stakeholders while maximising your own benefits. Learning negotiation skills can take you a long way ahead in your life.
Negotiation is a valuable skill that you need for life-long. From discussing the terms of a new job to asking for a raise during an appraisal, from making the case for a budget increase to closing a sale, from buying a car to renting a home, there will be plenty of occasions where you will need to negotiate. Negotiations are ubiquitous and mastering negotiation skills is crucial for success in life.
If you want to maximise the outcomes of your discussions and strike effective deals, you need to sharpen your negotiation skills. With the wisdom gained through my own life experiences, I can easily say that enhancing your negotiation skills can have an enormous payoff. Learning to negotiate and investing time and energy into developing relevant skills prepares you to yield the maximum value at the bargaining table.
Excellent Tips to Negotiate Effectively and Fairly
While some individuals seem to be born as impressive negotiators, many need to hone their negotiation skills. Even if you are an excellent negotiator, there is always room to improve the art of negotiation. In this blog, I will be sharing some valuable insights that I have gained while coaching 200+ professionals from different industries to maximise their performance.
Here are seven highly effective negotiation tactics and ways to confidently negotiate terms.
1. Prepare Ahead and Be Clear About What You Want
You need to have a clear objective in mind for sharp negotiation. Also, every sound negotiation emphasises the importance of preparation. Assess the scenario ahead of time, determine what exactly you need to negotiate about and up to what level you can compromise. It will be tough to strike a deal in your favour without these insights and proper preparation.
2. Focus on Maximising Your Benefits but Be Willing to Trade-Off
One of the most obvious yet significant aspects of any negotiation is getting the maximum benefits from the deal. You will come across many trade-off situations during the negotiation process and before compromising, you should vet all the available choices to ensure that you are getting the best possible outcome from the deal. Know your non-negotiables; and for the negotiable aspects, aim for a specific outcome in mind, with a limit on how far you’re willing to compromise.
3. Be Confident and Have a Strong Self-Belief
Negotiations are tough conversations to have, whether it is with your manager, a colleague or even a partner. However, you cannot be afraid and appear timid during such conversations. Be confident, relaxed, and have a firm belief in your values and expectations while getting on the bargaining table. Always believe that you deserve what you are negotiating for. Try to keep imposter syndrome out of your mind during such conversations.
4. Embrace Trust and Openness
Transparency and openness often lead to long-lasting collaborations and mutually-beneficial relationships. Reveal your priorities and convey your expectations at the beginning of negotiations. Also, ask the other stakeholders to be open about theirs. Knowing the priorities of all the stakeholders helps reach the best trade-offs and compensations. Ambiguity and confusion deteriorate the quality of these conversations and they should be avoided.
5. Be Respectful Towards Others
The art of negotiation includes some serious communication skills. While you need to appear and stay confident while negotiating with someone, you also need to be respectful to them. Be polite and sincere with your words. Practice active listening skills and observe their body language. Avoid talking too much out of nervousness. Remaining empathetic will always lead to more win-win scenarios.
6. Anticipate and Avoid Conflicts
You may encounter a case of conflicting interests or an attempt at bullying by a stakeholder during any negotiation. Being human, fear typically kicks in in such situations, shutting down the creative parts of the mind and preparing you for fight or flight. Anticipate such situations beforehand and implement appropriate strategies to avoid or overcome them if they occur. This approach enables you to yield the best outcomes from that negotiation.
7. Seek the Best Outcomes for Everyone Involved
A successful negotiation is one in which you, as well as other stakeholders, all reach a promising outcome that feels encouraging. Stay honest and avoid participating in negotiations with a win-lose mindset; it will tend to detach others and kill the chance for repeat deals. Always seek win-win outcomes; it can open a lot of doors down the road.
Going into a negotiation with someone can be a daunting prospect. Whether you are asking your boss for a new project or attempting to land a crucial business deal with a client, your approach to the negotiation affects your chances of success. Make the best case for what you want by following the effective negotiation tactics mentioned above. By approaching each negotiation ethically and with a win-win mentality, you set yourself up for a lifetime of rewarding relationships.
Do you communicate smartly or need help to enhance your communication skills? Take the Free Communication Skills Assessment to take the first step to speak with confidence.
Smita D Jain is a Certified Life Coach, Executive Coach and NLP Practitioner. Smita’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Performance Enhancement Coaching Programs enable introverted executives to speak with confidence and communicate with impact so that they emerge leaders sooner than envisaged.
Prior to her journey as a coach, Smita had extensive experience of 14 years as a corporate and business strategy professional with Fortune 500 companies. She is also a TEDx speaker, a panellist cum speaker at various public forums, a published writer, and an Amazon bestselling author.
You can learn more about Personal Empowerment Life Coach and Executive Coach Smita D Jain’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Coaching Programs by visiting www.lifecoachsmitadjain.com and book a strategy session at https://www.lifecoachsmitadjain.com/booking.
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