Archive for the ‘how to negotiate’ Category

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5 Tips For Making People See Things Your Way

Friday, February 3rd, 2012
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To reach a successful deal, you need to get people to see things the way that you do

To reach a successful deal, you need to get people to see things the way that you do

The goal of any negotiation is to get the other side of the table to see things your way. Hmm, how are we going to make that happen? What you are going to have to do is to become skilled at finding ways to support the position that you are taking. In order to get better at doing this, I’ve got 5 tips that will boost your skills…

Tips For Reaching A Deal Faster

If you want to be able to reach a deal with the other side of the table faster, then you’re going to have to take the time to give some thought to what it’s going to take in order to get them to see things your way. In other words, you’ve got some persuading to do. Here’s how to make that happen:

  • Move From Easy To Hard: Experienced negotiators know that it’s always a good idea to start a negotiation by tackling an issue that both sides are going to be able to easily reach an agreement on. Once you’ve got this success under your belt, then move on and start to tackle the tougher issues that are going to be more controversial.

  • Say It Again: I know that I’ve said this several times before, but I don’t think that I can say it enough – during a sales negotiation, it never hurts to repeat yourself. The more often that you say something, the better the chances that your message is going to be heard by the other side of the table and that it will be understood. Yeah, it might sound silly to you, but repeat yourself enough and you’ll be amazed at what happens.

  • Understand To Build Trust: One of the biggest challenges that every negotiator has is that they want to be understood by the other side of the table. What this means for you is that the more that the other side believes that you understand what they are saying (and why they are saying it), the better your chances of reaching a deal are. Take the time to show the other side that you get what they are saying and you’ll build trust with them which will lead to greater cooperation.

  • Head Off Issues Early: As part of your planning for your next negotiation, you need to take a look at all of the issues that will be discussed. Not all issues are created the same. For those issues that you know that are going to create resistance from the other side of the table, you need to be proactive and take action before they are even brought up. What you are going to want to do is to defuse the issue so that when both sides start to discuss it in earnest, it’s no longer such a controversial issue.

  • Success By Association: If there is an issue that will be part of your next negotiation that has a great deal of controversy associated with it and there is no way to defuse it, then you’ve got to get creative. If the issue gets discussed by itself, you’re going to be in for a rough time. However, if you can find a way to associate this controversial issue with another issue that is less controversial then you’ll be more likely to be able to reach agreement on it.

What All Of This Means For You

Every negotiation has the same goal in mind: finding a way for all parties involved to reach a successful deal. The challenge comes from finding a way to get from where everyone starts out to agreeing on that deal in the end.

Skilled negotiators know that they need find ways to support their position if they want to have any hope of reaching a deal in a reasonable amount of time. In order to make this happen, you can use the 5 tips that we’ve discussed in order to steer the other side of the table towards the deal that you want to strike. Try them out and you’ll be amazed at how much quicker you’re able to wrap-up your next negotiating session!

- Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World Negotiating Skills™

Question For You: How many times do you think that you can repeat yourself during a negotiating session?

Click here to get automatic updates when The Accidental Negotiator Blog is updated.

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What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

The goal of any negotiation is to get the other side of the table to see things your way. Hmm, how are we going to make that happen? What you are going to have to do is to become skilled at finding ways to support the position that you are taking. In order to get better at doing this, I’ve got 5 tips that will boost your skills…

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Professional Sales Negotiators Know How To Flinch Like An Italian

Friday, December 3rd, 2010
Image Credit A quick trip to Italy can make you a better sales negotiator…

A quick trip to Italy can make you a better sales negotiator…

When you are involved in a sales negotiation, just exactly how should you behave? For some odd and unexplained reason, a lot of us think that we need to be stoic statues who never show any emotion. Wait a minute. We’re involved in a sales negotiation where we are trying to get the best deal for our side. We’re not playing poker and trying to hide our reactions to our cards. Maybe it would be helpful to have a talk with some Italians to find out how we can become better negotiators…

The Italian Way Of Negotiating…

So first off, no, not everyone negotiates the same way no matter where they may come from. However, when it comes to negotiations, there are distinct styles that can be easily recognized when you encounter them. We can all learn important negotiating techniques from each style.

Simply put, the Italian style of negotiating is to be very expressive during the negotiation – the negotiator may or may not be expressing their true emotion; however, they are always broadcasting some type of emotion.

The part that is the most important to the rest of us is the simple fact that in the Italian style of negotiating you as the negotiator need to react to what the other side is saying in a visible way.

Why Your Reactions Are So Important

When you get right down to it, sales negotiations are simply a specialized form of business communications. Note that I said “communications”. Although we tend to rely on our spoken words to communicate what we want the other side to understand, the reality is that we have a number of different ways to get our point across.

When you use the Italian style of negotiating, you involve your entire body in the negotiations. I’m not talking about going crazy here, but rather using your body to provide the other side with very clear feedback so that they can react in the way that you want them to.

The easiest and simplest example of this is when the other side presents you with a price. You might be tempted to look at the price and then put on your “poker face” and not let the other side know what you are thinking. But wait a minute, if you think that their price is too high and you think that you can get them to go lower, then you’ve got to let them know.

How you communicate your dissatisfaction with their price is where the Italian style of negotiating comes in. You’ve got a lot of options to choose from here. You can roll your eyes, you can throw your arms up, you can let out an exasperated sigh, etc. This probably is not a good time to get up and walk out, but that is always another option that you have.

What you are doing is using your body to provide the other side with clear and easy to understand feedback immediately. This will allow them to more quickly react and come back to the table with an updated offer.

What All Of This Means For You

Sales negotiating is all about establishing clear communications with the other side of the table. When we keep a stone face and display no emotions during a negotiation, we’ve cut off a critical communication path.

The Italian style of sales negotiations allows us to use our bodies to provide the other side of the table with clear, immediate feedback on how we think that the negotiations are going. Using our faces, hands, and entire body we can react to proposals make by the other side.

There is a note of caution that needs to shared here: you don’t want to come across like the actor Jim Carrey. Instead, use the Italian technique when you think that it will help you move closer to closing a deal. Just take the time to ask yourself, “How would Marco Polo react to that proposal?”…

- Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World Negotiating Skills™

Question For You: Do you think that you have to speak loudly when using the Italian technique?

Click here to get automatic updates when The Accidental Negotiator Blog is updated.

What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

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Why Sales Negotiations Always Seem To Be A Failure Early On

Friday, July 16th, 2010
Image Credit It's always darkest just before the storm…

It's always darkest just before the storm…

I often like to think of a sales negotiation as being very similar to a dance. The first few moves are very well known and are recognized by both sides. However, very quickly things can get out of control. Neither partner recognizes what the other partner is doing and toes start to get stepped on. Does it always have to go this way?

The Beginning Of Bargaining

Unfortunately I believe that the answer is “yes”. Ever sales negotiation seems to follow a fairly predictable course. We always seem to start out on the right footing – doesn’t every negotiation start with pleasant introductions?

It’s what happens after the introductions that the expert negotiators focus on the most. They realize that the next step is when the real bargaining starts.

Once upon a time I took a business course on “organizational behavior”. Although that was a long time ago, I can still remember the phases that people go through when you throw them together as a part of a team: forming, storming, conforming, and norming. After I took this course I can remember being amazed when I observed that in real life these really are the steps that teams go through.

The same can be said of sales negotiations – they too seem to follow a standard path…

Why Can’t We All Just Get Along…?

Why does it have to be this way? Sales negotiations always seem to quickly descend into hostility and verbal sparing. For the sensitive negotiator this can quickly appear to be movement in the wrong direction.

We need to understand why this happens. One of the key reasons is that at the start of a negotiation both sides of the table are as far apart as they are ever going to be.

We all enter a negotiation with a starting position (what we want) that may appear to be unrealistic to the other side. This is going to make the other side think that the possibility of reaching an agreement with us may be out of the question.

We all react to this situation in the same way. We attack the other side’s position and force them to defend themselves. We force them and they force us to take different postures in order to justify where they are coming from.

What All Of This Means For You

Every sales negotiation has its ugly parts. Most often right after the negotiations start, things appear to head off into the wrong direction.

Experienced sales negotiators realize that this is a normal part of every negotiation. Since both sides start so far apart, conflict and disagreement are to be expected.

The key is to realize that this is only one part of a much larger negotiation. If you can make it through this part, then things will get better. Remember, things always seem the darkest just before the dawn…

- Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World Negotiating Skills™

Question For You: How can you tell the difference between a tough negotiation and a hopeless one?

Click here to get automatic updates when The Accidental Negotiator Blog is updated.

What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

How many times has this happened to you: there you are, you’ve jumped into a sales negotiation and started off with your initial negotiating position. The other side did exactly the same thing. You are miles apart and it seems like there is no way that you are ever going to bridge the gap. What do you do now?

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Tips From The Middle East For Sales Negotiators

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
The People Of The Middle East Have Always Been Sales Negotiation Experts

The People Of The Middle East Have Always Been Sales Negotiation Experts

They say that the world is getting smaller every day. This may be true, but the people who live in this smaller world couldn’t be more different than they are! A case in point are the  sales negotiators who hail from the Middle East – Arabs if you will. Unlike us in the West who become uptight at the mere thought of entering into a negotiation, they actually look forward to negations – it’s fun!

There is a lot going on behind the scenes here. Not the least of which is that negotiating has been a key part of Arab culture since days in which the very first trade routes wound their way through the Middle East connecting Europe to the Orient. They’ve gotten to be quite good at this skill and it shows when you negotiate with them.

One thing that Westerners need to understand when entering into negotiations with Arabs is that bargaining is a very social activity for them. You’ll find that you will be greeted warmly and food and drink are often provided in generous quantities. This can throw a Western sales negotiator off because you’ll start to feel as though you are at a dinner party instead of a sales negotiation.

Arabs also have a different view of time than those from the West. In part because they enjoy the sales negotiation process nothing will be rushed. You’ll find that there are many breaks, many side discussions, and frequent interruptions.

These interruptions may include visits from people not involved in the sales negotiations. They may come and go multiple times. Just let it happen. You need to keep your calm and realize that you are playing the same sales negotiation game, just at a different table.

Finally, you need to realize that Arabs don’t really worry about deadlocks. They have no problems walking away from a sales negotiation and then coming back to it later on. They always hope to eventually do a deal, but they realize that sometimes this is not possible.

Have you ever had a chance to participate in a sales negotiation when the other side of the table was from the Middle East? Did they seem to enjoy the sales negotiation process? Was time a factor? Did you ever encounter a deadlock? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.

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C’est La Vie – French Lessons For Sales Negotiators

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Sales Negotiations With The French Requires Understanding Of Two Key Differences

Sales Negotiations With The French Requires Understanding Of Two Key Differences

So what is your view of the the French? Is your view of this magnificent county and its people shaped by those Inspector Clouseau movies that you used to watch while you were growing up? If it was, then it’s time to get over it and move on – they negotiate much differently than you do.

As with all things in sales negotiations, there is no right or wrong as long as you are able to eventually reach a successful conclusion to your sales negotiations. The trick when dealing with the French is to realize that they approach negotiations differently than either Americans or British do.

There are two key characteristics that every sales negotiator needs to know when dealing with French negotiators. The first is HOW they approach sales negotiations, and the second is HOW they view concessions.

In all honesty, we Americans always seem to be in a rush when we enter in to a negotiation – we work from the bottom up. We pick the first point, try to hammer out an agreement, and then move on to the next point. The French have a completely different approach – if I had to use a 50 cent word I’d call it a more “holistic” approach.

The French prefer to work on a sales negotiation from the top down. They’ll try to reach agreement on the basis of some broad principles first, and spend time working out the details. While they are working out the details, they will constantly refer back to the central agreement on the broad principles. Since you start from a point of agreement, it always seems like the rest of the work is just sorting out the details and that an agreement will eventually be reached.

When it comes to concessions, the French have a very strong sense of quid-pro-quo: they always want to get something in return. Unlike Americans, the French have no problems tying strings to their concessions – you are going to have to give something up if you want to get them to give in on a point.

There you have it, it is possible to reach a successful sales negotiation deal when the other side of the table is French. You just have to remember that their approach to the negotiation and to concessions will be different than yours and you are going to have to change to make the deal work out.

Have you ever had a chance to participate in a sales negotiation when the other side of the table was French? Did they seem to be approaching the negotiation in a top-down fashion? Did you end up giving up something every time they made a concession? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.

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