Negotiate with the Best
Mike Mann
M
ost situations that require negotiating relate to staff issues, deals with vendors, deals with partners or investors, or sales to customers. Everyone has their own conscious and subconscious negotiating methods and agendas that go with their life experiences, personalities, and business skills. We think that you, personally, should always be the one who proposes the framework for deals. You want to prove that you are motivated, organized, and confident, and that you can put together a deal on your own terms. Come up with big ideas and offers that make economic sense and figure out how to explain them professionally, in writing. Practice a lot, ask around and read on the Internet and in the library about how to develop quality proposals. Also, at LinkedIn you can easily find people to help you develop winning proposals. One successful method and attitude in your negotiations is to be clear and direct from the start about which terms you may ultimately be willing to accept. This proves you have previously educated yourself on the issues, and you know what to expect throughout the process. Confidence adds value to your side of the negotiation and is likely to make the other party more confident themselves, which means the deal is more likely to close. If the other party is receptive to your initial overall proposition, then most of your negotiations should be over the smaller details. If your proposal is not accepted, you will have saved yourself valuable time. Haggling over small points is irrelevant if the broader proposal is being rejected. In the case of rejection, it’s likely to be an opposing party acting in good faith who will recommend alternative deal terms; as a result, it gives you the opportunity to accept them or to be firm, honest, and polite with your rejection. Being direct saves time and helps keep you honest, which provides multiple benefits. The only downside is that you are “playing your cards” publicly, so your responses may be predictable and possibly weaken your negotiating position. Rational parties may differ, but we believe in being direct and open as early as possible in your deal making. This will get you where you are going faster, and with less friction.