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• Putting leadership back into strategy, Harvard Business Review (PDF)

• Personal & Professional Development

• What Makes a Great Leader?
• Business Networking on the Golf Course
• The Importance of Goal Setting
• Negotiate Your Way to the Top

• Career Corner

• Professional Fundraiser
• Sustainable Careers
• The New Path to the C-Suite

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Negotiate Your Way to the Top

By Jag Sandher

Negotiation skills are essential to everyone's day to day life. Be they negotiations with your clients, your significant other, your boss, potential business associates, buying a house or car, the list goes on. Simply put, we all have to negotiate for something in life at one point or another.   

Most of us start developing our negotiation skills as children. We can all remember when our parents wanted us to do something we dreaded. How would we find a way out of this jam? We negotiated, some of us better than others. Sadly, some people still negotiate the same way in their adult life. However, throwing a tantrum will not lead to becoming a successful negotiator. Many people pay no attention to negotiating skills and fall short of their goals; do not let that be you.

Negotiation is an art, and it requires knowing yourself before you can determine if you "win" or "lose" a negotiation. Here are some tips to gain fulfillment from your next negotiation.

1. Know your values and belief system inside out. List what you value most in life and put it on paper. This has nothing to do with your actual negotiation; however it is a tool for you to know yourself. Knowing this will allow you to know if the person you are negotiating with has your best interests at heart. After all if you don't know what your best interests are, how will the person you are negotiating with know?
   
   
2. Evaluate the details. What will saving an extra $1000 dollars mean? What will you use it for? Why should you save it? What would it mean if you didn't save it? What would you do with the extra $1000? In short, you should have reasoning behind asking for what you want. You will be in a better negotiating position if you are clear about your motives. Once you have evaluated the details, make a list of goals, what is it that you want to achieve? Separate these goals by how this negotiation will impact you in the short-term and the long-term. Identify any problems you can foresee the other party not agreeing with. Once you have completing this, think about the worst possible outcome and what you can do if you do not reach an agreement, this is also known as contingency planning. If you have options, you will be much more relaxed and in a better negotiating position.
   
   
3. Observe your emotions during the negotiation, but do not react to them. Most people tend to make rash decisions when emotions are involved. If you find yourself getting worked up or overly excited, step back for a moment and evaluate what you really want. Remember when a person is angry, they are at their weakest point, because their thoughts are not clear in their mind. Use this to your advantage. Emotional mastery is essential to the negotiating process, be aware of the tones you use, the language and metaphors you use. These will all play a role in getting what you want.
   
   
4. Be honest, make the other party understand what you want and why you want it. Now this doesn't mean you reveal all your cards to the other party, however, be honest with your wants and needs. The other party should be aware of what you want. Be honest with yourself, are your demands realistic? Do they align with the other party’s wants and needs? How can you reach mutual grounds? Be honest about the risks you face and how you can overcome them. 
   
   
5. Be prepared to help the person you are negotiating with. A one sided negotiation is rare. Just as you want your needs to be clearly understood, you also want to understand the other party's objectives and motives. It is likely you will negotiate with this person in the future, make sure you do not burn any bridges, stay positive.
   
   Do a role reversal, what if you were the other person? If you do your homework and find out enough about the party you are negotiating with, this will make your life much easier. Think of things like, how will I establish trust? What is this persons or organization’s cultural or corporate background? The more you know, the more tools you have in your tool box for your negotiation.
   
   
6. Do not focus on a “win-win” situation; sometimes it is wise to “lose” a negotiation, for a favourable outcome in the future. Intelligent negotiators recognize it is never about a “win-win” situation, it is about satisfying your best interests in the long run.
   
   

Remember Persistence and patience both will be vital for getting what you want. Never giving up is important, if you give up you will not conquer your goals. The same apples to patience, time can be your friend as the negotiating party ponders about your proposals. Use the above steps in your next negotiation and watch the fruits of your labour pay off. Those who are the most prepared and more knowledgeable about what they want will win out 100% of the time.

 

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For further information, please contact:

Austin Nairn
Programs Coordinator

The Company of Young Professionals
& Leaders of Tomorrow Mentorship Program^®
(604) 641-1246
anairn@boardoftrade.com

The Vancouver Board of Trade
Suite 400, 999 Canada Place
Vancouver, BC
V6C 3E1
604-681-2111
The Vancouver Board of Trade