Buying
Buying in the workplace can take many forms, from purchasing contractor services to hiring staff. The buyer must identify the needs of all interested parties, agree available budget and sche-dule, and research the options that meet the majority of these needs most effectively. At the point of purchase, and if the time is right, the buyer may even haggle, on price perhaps, or try to get an ‘added extra’ that sweetens the deal. It’s worth remembering that these procedures are the very same we undertake when making a big personal purchase, such as buying a house, a car, or a holiday.
Selling
Successful selling depends on how well we know our product and our market. Whether punting vintage comics on eBay, or leftover lawn turf to a colleague for cash; the vendor must know what their product or service provides in terms of benefits, and what competitors charge, before they can arrive at a fair price. How does this apply to negotiation? Take this skill-set and apply it, for example, to negotiating for better pay, which is, in blunt terms, ‘selling’ the product of you at market value, and not a penny below it.
Many skills needed for successful negotiation are ones that we apply in our daily lives, probably without noticing. By taking this tool kit, extending and formalizing it a little, we can approach negotiation in our working lives too. Whether you seek to advance your career or get a good deal from suppliers, believe it or not, you’re already surprisingly well-equipped.
Knowing when to negotiate
While developing your negotiation skills is invaluable, it’s just as important to know when it’s appropriate to negotiate and when it’s not a good idea. Recognizing when negotiation isn’t an option will save you time, effort, and credibility.
Do both (or more) parties have something to gain?
To negotiate, you and your opposite number must have some common ground to work from, and both must have something to gain.
Do you want to stick around?
Do you want to have a future relationship with the other party? If so, negotiation is the best option, because if you don’t share your needs, one or both of you will walk away.
Do you and the other party (or parties) have time?
If time is short, and you can’t postpone negotiation, you’ll be unable to prepare effectively enough to achieve much. You wouldn’t choose a holiday in 90 seconds, so it’s unlikely you’ll successfully negotiate better pay on finding yourself in the lift with your boss.
If you open negotiations while the other party is under pressure at work or home, you risk an abrupt response because they need to keep proceedings short.
First steps
Perhaps the most pivotal aspect of negotiation beyond all others is preparation. By preparing for every negotiation on an individual basis, you’ll boost your chances of reaching a satisfactory resolution, starting here:
Set a primary ‘gut feeling’ objective
Before you even start to research the market or set of circumstances in which you’re negotiating, write down what you would want to achieve in an ideal-world scenario. This will focus your research efforts and provide clarity for the road ahead. Look back at this objective any time that you feel your negotiation proceedings are getting lost in detail.
Make time to gather knowledge
Only by preparing properly will you be able to gather enough information about your opposite number, and the issue under discussion, to give your negotiations authority and credibility. In the next few pages we’ll look at preparatory research in depth.
Never assume what worked before will work again
If you’ve negotiated before, and with success, it’s forgivable to assume that you’ll do the same again by applying the same tactics. But, every negotiation is unique – even one new face or a different deadline in the mix can hugely alter the objectives.
Know what you want
Once you’ve identified your ideal objective, which can be as simple as ‘get myself a pay rise’, you should examine what it is you really want – in detail. Here are a few examples to get you started:
What do I/we want to get as a result of the negotiations?
What would the perfect deal be?
What would an acceptable deal be?
When do I/we want or need negotiations to start and finish?
What are my/our financial limits/aspirations?
How important is the ongoing relationship with the other party?
How long can I/we wait for delivery of the agreed item/terms?
Asking yourself or your team these questions will help you identify acceptable alternatives to the ‘perfect deal’, or note some aspects that you’d be willing to trade off. What is key in identifying what you want is not establishing a determined, immovable ‘position’, but what your specific interests really are. Knowing what these interests are will provide you with much more material to negotiate with than creating a fixed stance over which the only choice is to haggle aggressively. Noting these interests is also the first step in creating your negotiation strategy.
Know what you can give
After identifying what your specific interests are, ask yourself and/or your team some open questions to reveal just how little or how much you’re prepared to bargain. Everyone must agree on these terms wholeheartedly, and stick to them. Here are just a few examples of the type of questions you may ask:
Could I/we wait for a better sale price/a bigger payrise in the longer term?
Could I accept home working in place of a car allowance?
Could I accept more annual leave instead of a bonus this year?
But how can ‘giving in’ suit both parties? Surely you’re losing out? Not necessarily, because the analysis process can reveal some unexpected interests you didn’t know you had. You may, for example, realize that an immediate bonus rather than a later pay rise would suit you because you’re getting married and don’t want to take out a loan for the wedding. You’re happy: your employer is delighted. Analysing what you really want and what you’re willing to give are the first foundations of your negotiation strategy, and will provide you with materials that can be discussed and traded off to reach a resolution that potentially benefits both (or more) parties.
Know your USP