It’s Not Such A Good Idea To Wait Until You’ve Reached The Table To Start Negotiations

It’s not always such a good idea to wait until you’ve reached the table to start negotiations. Did it ever occur to you that it might be too late? Negotiations are directly linked to the iceberg theory. It’s obvious that we all want money, services, and goods, but we often fail to get what we want and all those things remain unspoken and unseen, hidden much like the bottom of an iceberg. If you want power, it’s your job to gain access and make use of the parts present at the surface to succeed. It will be a rollercoaster but in the end, it will be worth the effort.

Your purpose and mission must be clearly laid out

You can’t succeed in negotiations without a mission and a purpose (M&P). A properly conceived plan is meant to guide each and every decision that you make; simply put, it’s vital. Opponents, irrespective of their status, should have the ability to recognize the benefits, advantages, and features of your service or product to determine long-term or immediate value of those benefits. Vagueness and jargon must be left out of a business negotiation. Ask yourself this:  can your counterpart conduct their business and services without dealing with you? Are they convinced that closing a deal with your company is a good idea? Without a solid visualization of a negotiation outcome, you won’t be able to close a good bargain, which is why it’s paramount to have your M&P clearly laid out before reaching the table.

Stand by your proposal

If your offer is reasonable enough and you know for a fact that’s true, don’t back down. Don’t let arrogance, fear or chiding language intimidate you in any way. Allow counterparts enough time to mock your offer; let them tell you that it’s ridiculous and that there’s nothing you can say to convince them otherwise. When they’re done, come up with a solid argument that your offer is indeed the best, and leave room for debating. It’s a good idea to leave the ball in the opponent’s court before making another move. A solid, decisive attitude works miracles in business where both parties are fierce negotiations. If you back down you’ll fail, so stick to your guns.

Your team must speak the same language

It’s important to be sure that your team is on the same page with you as far the mission and purpose of the business negotiation is concerned. Believe it or not, many negotiations fail because important members didn’t participate in the preparatory process. Ergo, they can’t partake in the discussion and they can’t bring a fair contribution to speed up the process and help the team close a good deal. In business, winning is all about cohesiveness. It’s paramount to have competent people working for you and with you; otherwise, you risk losing negotiations faster that you anticipated. 

Matching benefits with demands

In business negotiations, if you want people to compromise you must be prepared to give something in return too. Whether we’re talking about benefits, written proposals, or promises, one thing for sure – you have to offer value. If an opponent can’t benefit from what you’re proposing, he will never agree to do business with you. Skilled negotiators are extremely optimistic; expect more and that’s what you’ll get. Starting a negotiation at the table is not such a good idea when you don’t know your counterpart. How can you bargain when you have no ideas what they’re talking about?

Arrive at the table with as much information as possible about your counterpart. Know their position in relation to other companies; find out more about their historical background, and try to understand their problems and concerns. Have your team build your opponent’s profile and arm yourself with data.  Find out more about past deals; get to know the CEO, mission and vision, expectations, and more. Basically, you have to be one step ahead, even if you can’t know for sure what’s about to happen. Skilled negotiators are usually relaxed and polite, so you might want to control your emotions when the meeting starts. If you’re nervous, talk less, and always remember – if the deal doesn’t suit your company’s mission at all and doesn’t bring you any benefits, don’t hesitate to walk away.