What is a USP?
The unique selling proposition is a marketing term which describes the qualities that only you can provide, or provide best, compared to all other competitors. The USP concept doesn’t just apply to negotiations related to buying and selling; ever-increasingly you’ll need to emphasize your USP in job interviews, and in negotiations for pay or promotion.
Recognize your USP
Whether negotiating as a team or one to one, you’ll have to know your USP. What can you offer that no one else can? What is it that makes you unique and sought after? Crucially, it must be an attribute that’s important to the other party, or your USP will be irrelevant. To identify your USP fully, you must consider it in terms of what your opposite party needs. When the time comes to research them, think carefully about what it is you could offer to respond uniquely to their requirements.
Get ready to sell your USP
Having a convincing selling proposition will help you counter most, if not all, challenges. For example, a proven ability to provide support across a number of office roles or, for suppliers, award-winning customer service will help counter statements such as ‘Liz has been here longer than you and isn’t asking for a raise’ or ‘we know another supplier who can undercut your costs’. When a USP offers an intangible but compelling concept of added value, it’s difficult for your opposite number to dismiss it, even against tangible factors such as price.
When you’ve determined your USP, it’s important that you’re comfortable talking about it, even before you begin negotiations. Take a little time to craft your USP into a short statement of no more than 20 clear, credible words. If you’re going into team negotiations, make sure every team member is comfortable with it, understands it, (believes it!) and can justify it if asked.
Know your opposite number
No matter what the circumstance, whether a neighbourhood campaign against a new road or negotiating for better working conditions in a factory, research will help you shape your negotiation strategy and help you make an educated guess about what the other party’s strategy will be too.
Gather all possible information
Ask the other party who they plan to field: Providing your opposite number knows you’re about to enter into negotiations with them, they should expect to be asked for such information. Ask who will be present, what their job titles are, and brief background information about them. Ask who’ll be leading, what roles the others will fulfil, and offer the same in return.
Search LinkedIn® and other social media: Now you’ve got names, explore their career profiles on LinkedIn® to discover their special interests and skills. Finding their profile page on Facebook or Twitter may uncover nuggets about likes and dislikes, hobbies and aspirations. This could give you common ground from which to build a relationship, or provide a talking point to ease a tense coffee break. And simply knowing what the other team looks like will help you fit names to faces quickly on the day, making you appear confident and attentive.
Check their company website: If you’re negotiating with representatives of a company, you should check the company website for information such as claimed service standards and company ethos. Being able to point out a mismatch between what they say during negotiations and what they claim on their site may give you some leverage.
Read their publications: Most company websites will hold newsletters, annual reports, and staff magazines in pdf form. Annual reports provide financial information that can reveal, for example, any debts, expansion plans, and the company’s financial targets for the year. If you know they’re in debt, for example, this could put you into the driving seat of negotiations, as you know they’ll be keen to work quickly to save money. If, on the other hand, you’re being interviewed for a job and plan to negotiate your starting salary upwards, then quoting their staff magazine on how crucial recruitment is to the health of the company may also make them sit up and take notice.
Talk to their customers: Whether a big corporate or a one-man band, most companies are proud to list important clients on their website. Do you know anyone listed there? Can they tell you about their experiences of working with the person or company you’re interested in? Take some time to catch up with these contacts. If it feels appropriate, they might be willing to provide insights into their own negotiations with the company you’re dealing with, or mention any customer service shortfalls they’ve experienced.
Profile the people: Whether it’s one person or a whole team, you now have an idea of their career path, likes, dislikes, common contacts, and any shared interests. By digesting their LinkedIn® profile (especially their recommendations) you may also build up a picture of their workplace strengths and style. Facebook and others may reveal glimpses of temperament and person-ality. It’s good to know in advance if you’re coming to table with a tough negotiator, and equally useful to know if your opposite number is inexperienced, which can make for both easy, or unpredictable, negotiations.
Profile the company: Look for common company objectives that could provide potential for joint gains. Perhaps they aspire to becoming more ‘green’ and your cleaning service uses eco-detergents and recycling as standard? Perhaps they plan to gain more local clients to cut back on travel costs, and you’re slap bang in their neighbourhood. What are their published service standards compared to what customers tell you? Explaining that you’re aware of a shortfall could give you valuable negotiation leverage.
Get to know each other
Establishing a preliminary relationship before negotiating may instil a glimmer of mutual trust. Email to arrange negotiations dates, venues and teams. Vary your contact – if they’re coming to you, email to confirm arrangements, then make a friendly call later to check if they’ve additional needs on the day, like a flipchart or veggie sandwiches. Keeping contact regular and approachable makes the prospect of meeting at the negotiation table much less daunting.
Know your team
While many of your negotiating experiences will be one to one, there may be times when you feel it’s better to bring helpers to the table with you. But when?
When is it best to use a team?
To represent the interests of many: Where the welfare of many is at stake, e.g. in neighbourhoods, local councils, retail, construction, call-centres and factories, a team of individuals who each represent a constituent group can better reflect their diverse needs.
When you need to think differently: Where negotiations are complex, where there seems no way of reaching a mutually beneficial result, or if a one-to-one negotiation has already broken down, it’s time to bring in the collective imagination of a team.
To show that this is important: Turning up in number is a concise way of saying this is important to you. For example, a team would underline the depth of community feeling if fielded against a construction company surveying parkland. However, turning up mob-handed on your neighbour’s doorstep to discuss his hedge, or arriving to talk pay with your boss flanked by colleagues, will look aggressive. If it’s important