10 Tips For Effective Negotiations in Life and Business

 

In every field you are involved in negotiations on a regular basis, whether you realize it or not. When people think of negotiations generally the term "high level" comes to mind. There is a group of cigar smoking men surrounding a table in a board room and the volume is loud and occasionally emphasized with a fist pounding on the table.

That scene may have played in the '70's or earlier, but it really is an archaic vision into a past era, and it has almost nothing to do with this article. Everything you do comes as the result of a negotiation with someone, unless you are living alone on a desert island, and even then you are probably negotiating with Wilson.

Think about it. What did you have for dinner last night? Did you cook it? Did you choose the food? Where did you buy the food? All of these are the results of some low level negotiations. Did you speak with your spouse about the choice? If you looked in the paper for sales on food, that is a form of negotiation with the vendor.

But now the point is made, and perhaps you are looking at negotiating and thinking, gee, I never thought about it that way. So how do you negotiate face to face (or through other communication methods?) You have to start either with a need or with a solution, depending which side you are on. Either way these 10 points are things you need to have in mind to have a win-win.

1. Your negotiation has to have a two way commitment to the agreed upon ending

2. Know the real goal when you sit down to the table. Your goal is not to every step of the process necessarily, but to achieve the end result. Don't let the steps drag down the negotiations

3. Remember the process is going to involve give and take. Don't expect to dictate the terms, unless you are willing to walk, if they are not met.

4. Be prepared to walk if the negotiations aren't going to fulfill your needs within your budget.

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5. When you sit down at the table, know what your limits are on all aspects of the deal. What are your time, money, and product parameters? What is open to negotiation, and where is your wiggle room?

6. Have options in mind when you sit down. Perhaps you don't need the widget gold plated; maybe silver will work just as well. Keep an open mind.

7. Know that to have successful negotiations it is not generally a once and done deal. Don't bargain so hard that you won't be able to return for another deal.

8. When you are done, you should have a written contract with solid goals and a timeline. There should also be consequences if the timeline is not kept, and possibly incentive if it is done right and done early.

9. Create a winning team. When you enter into a deal with someone, you are forming a team, at least in the short term. Make sure you can work with someone, if need be. Sometimes negotiations will make odd bedfellows, but make sure everyone is willing to pull their weight for the good of the team.

10. Remember the "Big Picture." You are there for a specific purpose. Don't get sidetracked and bogged down by the bug dust.

It takes commitment on the part of everyone involved to have a successful negotiation, and all negotiations are the beginning of a relationship. How that relationship starts out often dictates how it goes over time. Camaraderie goes a long way to keep things smooth along your journey, so keep your sense of humor and know that life will throw curve balls at you occasionally. Negotiations are the start of a relationship and relationships make business work.

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Negotiate And Win Using Body Language

In tough economic times, you can still achieve successful outcomes when you negotiate, but you have to use slightly different tactics and increase your skills when it comes to reading body language. It's a given that people will try to maximize the use of their resources during a recession or other economically challenged times. If you can read and interpret body language (non verbal signals), you will have a better understanding of the gestures and other responses you receive while negotiating.

A lot of people believe the person that negotiates on her/his own turf has an advantage. To some degree that's true. There are other factors that go into the makeup of that advantage. First of all, the person that perceives that situation as an advantage is right. Now some of you may be thinking, what happens if both individuals/groups/teams perceive that situation as an advantage? Guess what, both parties are right. The proof is in the outcome.

If you're good at interpreting body language, you will 'catch' signs and signals that you can use to your advantage. When you enter into someone's environment, they know where everything is and more than likely, they feel comfortable in that environment. How then can you enhance the probability that the outcome will be more favorable to you or your team? There are several ways you can do this.

If you began to act extremely comfortable in that environment, as the result of sending body language signals that suggest you were comfortable and very much 'at home', you can neutralize the other person's perceived advantage. What else could you do to take the advantage from the other person in their environment? You can observe pictures that your negotiation partner has in their environment. Is your negotiation partner holding people in the picture? Are they being held? Who is in the picture? Is it a loved one, a boss, an associate? How are they acting? What's the expression on their face?

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The reason it's so important to observe, 'pick up', and interpret the non verbal clues in those scenes is because you will get clues into that person's character and makeup. If the person you're negotiating with is in a picture with a member of the opposite sex, you can inquire as to who the individual is. After receiving a response, that's the time to note other aspects of the picture. As stated above, does your negotiation partner have his arm around the other person? That would display a sign of dominance. Does the person you're negotiating with have the arm of the other person around them? That would be a sign of being dominated. Observe the distance between the people in the picture. That distance will give you insight into the 'space' your negotiating partner likes to have. If your negotiation partner has pictures of inanimate scenes in her environment that insight can lead you to assume that person may not be the warm and touchy feely type. Keep in mind that those pictures are a snapshot in time, but as you negotiate, you can use the interpretation of those scenes to your advantage.

Understand, there are a myriad of subtle signals you can glimpse when you're in someone else's environment. As such, you don't have to be at a disadvantage. You can take the advantage from the other person. You just need to use different tactics and heighten your awareness of non verbal signals.

The better you are at interpreting subtle signals, the better you will be at interpreting body language and thus, the better the outcome will be for you ... and everything will be right with the world.

The negotiation lessons are ...

** You can acquire an advantage when you're in someone's environment. The accurate interpretation of their body language in their environment will be the source of your advantage.

** Invest the time and effort that it takes to learn how to control the non verbal signals your body sends. Once you become good at sending the right signal, at the right time, in the right situation, you will win more negotiations. In this case, the right signal would be the one that most aligns with the outcome you seek.

** Always give consideration to negotiating in someone else's environment as a strategic tactic.

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