Negotiating to Succeed

I used to think that you need to win in a negotiation. I thought the term “negotiation” meant “battle” or “fight for your side,” or that there had to be a winner and a loser. Not true. A negotiation is a mutual discussion and arrangement aimed at reaching an agreement. In my world and that of the Partnership Group – Sponsorship Specialists®, it is about coming to an agreement. It should be a mutually beneficial agreement. You negotiate to reach that point, but you don’t always get there. Sometimes a deal is not done. You negotiate, but you cannot come to a mutually agreed upon outcome? So be it… move on!

I recently delivered a workshop on negotiation and thought I would share some of the points from that presentation. Here are five takeaways from that session!

  1. Before you go into any negotiation, have a BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement). Know your bottom line, be it dollars or otherwise—and stick to your BATNA.
  1. Never negotiate with yourself. Don’t start out thinking too much. Have your BATNA and go in with a good offer. Avoid the internal head games where you think at the last minute “perhaps the ask is too high” or “I will never get it for that little” and you negotiate with yourself lowering the expectations several times before you even get into the negotiation. Don’t over analyse early on.
  1. Always ask for more than you expect to get! Don’t start out at your BATNA. Ask for more than you think you will get as you know it will be negotiated down. If you are buying, never make your best offer first. Go lower. Leave room to negotiate.
  1. If you have a truly strong value proposition, you don’t have to negotiate. Many strong negotiators don’t move on price. They know the value is there. They may add or delete assets or value in the negotiation, but never budge on price.
  1. Read the body language of the people you are negotiating with. If they are constantly touching the left side of their faces /ears/mouth with their left hand, it is a good sign they are not telling the truth. If their arms are crossed over their chest, they most likely are no longer engaged or listening.

I hope these help you in your next negotiation, be it a sponsorship agreement, a raise, a new car, or dealing with your children! If you have great negotiation tips, please be sure to share them on our blog so all can benefit.

These are just one person’s thoughts. Yours are welcomed as well. Please add your thoughts or comments below. Thank you for reading and your feedback.

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