Posts Tagged ‘win-win’

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Avoiding The Stall: 3 Ways That A Sales Negotiator Can Keep Control

Friday, March 16th, 2012
Image Credit Don't stop! Keep moving forward…!

Don't stop! Keep moving forward…!

In every negotiation, you’ll eventually run out of things to say to the other side of the table. I mean, come on, you’ve already said everything. In fact you may have already said everything more than once! You need to be careful when this happens, either side may feel like giving up without having reached an agreement. Never fear, I’ve got 3 techniques that you can use when you encounter this situation that are guaranteed to turn things around:

Its All About The Agenda

I firmly believe that most negotiations are won or lost long before the discussions actually start. If you want to win your next negotiation, then you’re going to have to keep it on track. One of the best ways to ensure that this will happen is to make sure that you control what gets discussed – this means that you’re going to have to control what’s on the agenda.

Nobody ever really wants to go to the effort of creating an agenda for a negotiation; however, it’s one of the most important tasks that you can do in order to control how the negotiation turns out. If you control the agenda, then you control what will get discussed during the negotiations. Likewise, you control what won’t get discussed and this is one way to make sure that the negotiations stay on track!

Become A Quick Change Artist

Have you ever driven a car that tended to overheat? You know how it goes: you drive for a bit, it gets close to overheating, you pull over and let it cool down, then you keep on driving. It turns out that you can keep your next negotiation on track the same way.

By its very nature, negotiations can become heated exchanges. When you see the positions of both sides starting to harden, you need to take action. Call for a break and start to talk about personal issues with the other side: family, job, even the weather if you have to. By doing this you’ll allow things to cool down and then everyone will be ready to keep on negotiating.

Say It Again Sam

You would think that all that you’d have to do is to say something once, and that would be it, right? All too often in sales negotiations this turns out to not be the case. Instead, the other side has not prepared for the negotiations and they haven’t read anything that you’ve proposed.

What this means is that you really can’t go wrong repeating yourself. You don’t have to say the same thing over and over. Rather you can simply rephrase your main points and restate them that way. The more often that the other side hears what you are proposing, the more likely they are to start to understand what you want and to start searching for a way to make a deal happen.

What All Of This Means For You

Every sales negotiation has its own set of highs and lows. There will be times in which you are in synch with the other side of the table and you are able to rapidly make progress on a large number of issues.

However, there will also be times when the negotiations start to drag. When this happens it may seem as though there is no way to move forward. Experienced sales negotiators know that it’s always possible to make progress – you just need to know what to do to get things started again.

We’ve discussed three techniques that you can use: win-win, the path of least resistance, and saying “yes”. Every negotiating situation is different and you’ll need to make the decision as to which technique is going to work the best for you.

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

Question For You: When taking the path of least resistance, do you think that you should come back to the big issue multiple times to see if it has become any easier to resolve?

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

P.S.: Free subscriptions to The Accidental Negotiator Newsletter are now available. Learn what you need to know to do the job. Subscribe now: Click Here!

What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

In every negotiation, you’ll eventually run out of things to say to the other side of the table before you’ve been able to reach a deal no matter what negotiation styles or negotiating techniques you are using. I mean, come on, you’ve already said everything. In fact you may have already said everything more than once! You need to be careful when this happens, either side may feel like giving up without having reached a deal. Never fear, I’ve got 3 techniques that you can use when you encounter this situation that are guaranteed to turn things around and keep the negotiation process moving towards a deal:

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Posted in deadlock | No Comments »

3 Ways That A Sales Negotiator Can Keep A Negotiation Moving Forward

Friday, March 9th, 2012
Image Credit Don't stop! Keep moving forward…!

Don't stop! Keep moving forward…!

In every negotiation, you’ll eventually run out of things to say to the other side of the table. I mean, come on, you’ve already said everything. In fact you may have already said everything more than once! You need to be careful when this happens, either side may feel like giving up without having reached an agreement. Never fear, I’ve got 3 techniques that you can use when you encounter this situation that are guaranteed to turn things around:

Use The Power Of “Win-Win”

We all know about the famous “win-win” negotiating technique. However, what you may not know is that just by mentioning this technique you can breathe new life into a negotiation that has run out of steam.

We all respond positively when someone suggests that we “find a way to make this work out for both of us”. The other side will perk up when they hear you say this and a negotiation that looked like it was over will have found its second wind.

Find The Path Of Least Resistance

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been involved in a negotiation and we’ve run into an issue that just brings everything to a halt. It sure looks like there is not going to be a way to resolve this issue and that means that the whole negotiation is in jeopardy.

It turns out that things don’t have to end this way. Instead, you can seek the path of least resistance. Pick another issue that needs to be discussed and move the discussion to this issue. What I find happens is you’ll be able to reach an agreement on a number of these smaller issues and then when you finally come back to the “big” issue, it won’t seem so large the second time around. You’ll be able to resolve it and a deal will finally be reached.

Say “Yes” One More Time

Experienced negotiators know that the simple word “yes” has the power to move a stalled negotiation forward. What this means is that you always want to have another “yes” in your pocket ready to use.

This means that you need to be aware of all of the issues that are being negotiated. There are always some issues that you’ll have no problem agreeing to with the other side. You need to keep a few of these issues off of the negotiating table early on in the discussions.

If things bog down and progress stops, then you’ll know what to do. Bring one of these issues up, say “yes” to them, and watch the negotiations get started once again.

What All Of This Means For You

Every sales negotiation has its own set of highs and lows. There will be times in which you are in synch with the other side of the table and you are able to rapidly make progress on a large number of issues.

However, there will also be times when the negotiations start to drag. When this happens it may seem as though there is no way to move forward. Experienced sales negotiators know that it’s always possible to make progress – you just need to know what to do to get things started again.

We’ve discussed three techniques that you can use: win-win, the path of least resistance, and saying “yes”. Every negotiating situation is different and you’ll need to make the decision as to which technique is going to work the best for you.

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

Question For You: When taking the path of least resistance, do you think that you should come back to the big issue multiple times to see if it has become any easier to resolve?

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

P.S.: Free subscriptions to The Accidental Negotiator Newsletter are now available. Learn what you need to know to do the job. Subscribe now: Click Here!

What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

In every negotiation, you’ll eventually run out of things to say to the other side of the table. I mean, come on, you’ve already said everything. In fact you may have already said everything more than once! You need to be careful when this happens, either side may feel like giving up without having reached an agreement. Never fear, I’ve got 3 techniques that you can use when you encounter this situation that are guaranteed to turn things around:

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Posted in deadlock | 2 Comments »

The Most Important Word In Negotiating Begins With A “P”

Friday, April 1st, 2011
Image Credit
Negotiators Need To Remember Who Won The Race

Negotiators Need To Remember Who Won The Race

All too often when we see negotiators in the movies, they are portrayed as slick, fast talking folks who always seem to effortlessly get their way. The first thing that we need to realize that this is the movies and so it in no way represents real life. The second thing that we need to realize is that when we see negotiators portrayed this way, we’re being taught the wrong lesson. For you see, in negotiations, speed kills…

The Most Important Word In Negotiating

The art of negotiating is truly that – an art. Sure there are a lot of skills and tactics that help one get what they want to get out of a negotiation that much quicker; however, in the end, reaching a deal with the other side takes creativity.

In this day and age of immediate gratification, the single most important word that a negotiator needs to remember is the one that it is the hardest to hear – patience. Just as the Grand Canyon was not created overnight, so to are the best negotiations not completed quickly.

If you want to have any hope of ever being a successful negotiator, then you are going to have to learn to be patient – more patient than you are today. Patience is the one thing that allows both sides of the table to work through those things that are preventing a deal from happening. It’s also how the time is found to search for more creative solution to impasses, the ones that we all like to call “win-win” solutions.

If you can slow down your natural desire to rush through a negotiation, you’ll be able to take the time to fully understand what the other side of the table is trying to accomplish. Patience is something that will also give you time to adjust to the offer that the other side of the table is making to you. What seemed unacceptable awhile ago, upon further reflection may become something that you can live with.

Why Patience Works So Well

Nobody wants to hear that having patience is the key to being a successful negotiator. We are all looking for that secret “black belt” negotiating tactic that will cause the other side of the table to roll over and give us anything that we ask them for. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.

Instead, you have this powerful, but difficult to use strategy called patience. Patience works for you in the end not because of any magical qualities that it has, but rather because of what it allows to happen when you use it.

When you have the strength to be patient, you’ll allow the other side of the table’s expectations for what they’re going to get out of the negotiation to change. We all enter a negotiation thinking that we’re going to get everything that we want. If you can be patient, then the other side will start to understand that they’re not going to get everything that they want, but (if you’ll excuse the Rolling Stones song reference) they are going to get everything that they need.

Every negotiation is a stressful situation. Not only are the different sides exerting stress on each other, but they are also struggling with stress internally. If you have the ability to remain patient and wait them out, those internal stresses will continue to grow. If you are willing to wait long enough, those forces will cause enough stress and confusion for the other side that they’ll be more willing to reach a deal with you just to end the negotiations.

Finally, as much as you hate to be patient, the other side will hate to have you being so patient. When you are patient, things move more slowly and nobody can stand that – can’t we just get this thing done? As a direct result of your patience, the other side will start to do things in order to hurry the process up. More often than not this includes making some concessions just to get things to hurry along. Not a bad payoff for just being patient!

What All Of This Means For You

Far more important than any clever negotiating tactic, the ability to be patient is the one skill that will always serve a negotiator well. By taking the time to allow a negotiating session to unfold, a negotiator will allow more facts and realities to be revealed and by doing so it will become that much easier to eventually reach a deal with the other side.

Patience is such a powerful tool because of what it does to the other side of the table. It has the ability to transform them from an unstoppable force into a mild mannered partner.

It’s not easy to be patient during a negotiation, especially when the stakes are high. However, negotiators who can learn to be patient will find that they are the ones who are able to strike better deals quicker.

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

Question For You: Do you think that there are situations in which you need to become impatient in order to strike a deal with the other side of the table?

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

What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

Just how long do you think that your next sales negotiation is going to last? I’ve got news for you – it may not last as long as you may think that it’s going to last. The reason is that either side of the table may use deadlines to help hurry things along. If this happens, will you recognize that it’s happening and, more importantly, will you know what to do when it happens to you?

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Sales Negotiations: How Do You Get From The Middle To The End?

Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Image Credit Crossing The Finish Line Is The Goal Of Every Sales Negotiation

Crossing The Finish Line Is The Goal Of Every Sales Negotiation

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?

Movement Is Good

Although it sure can feel mighty lonely when you are in the first half of a sales negotiation, take heart – this is exactly what needs to happen. Both sides always start far apart, have some conflict and stake out their positions. This is when things start to really get interesting.

Expert sales negotiators realize that after all of this posturing is done is when the real work of crafting a deal really beings. Yes, there is a lot of distance between where you and the other side of the table sit right now; however, it’s up to you to find ways to narrow that gap.

Your job is to knuckle down and look for which issues you and the other side are closer together on. These are where you can initially spend your time trying to find ways to move closer to an agreement.

Your negotiating strategy and the other side’s will be in flux at this time. You’ll try different things and some will work, some won’t. You will test the other side’s commitment to some of their positions and they’ll do the same with you.

Much of this stage of the negotiation is based on power. You will be working to find out just exactly what the other side really wants to get out of the negotiation. The goal of this phase is for both sides of the table to come away with the belief that a deal is possible.

Into The Fire

It takes a lot of guts to be a good sales negotiator. You’ll have to prove yourself when you move to the next stage of a negotiation – this is when the hard bargaining starts.

Both sides realize that a deal is possible. However, you’ll change your tactics. You want to end up with the best deal possible and that means that you need the other side of the table to make as many concessions to you as you can get. Unfortunately the other side of the table is thinking exactly the same thing.

This is where the bare-knuckle brawling really comes out. Different sides threaten to leave, do leave, come back, etc. Pretty much every negotiation tactic in the book gets whipped out and tried during this phase of the negotiation.

This is a very difficult part of the negotiation to make it through. However, professional sales negotiators do make it through by realizing two important things: where they currently are, and where they are close to being. They know that if they can stick with it, they’re almost done.

Striking A Deal

You will never be able to negotiate the perfect deal. What will happen is that you’ll push and push to get a better deal and eventually you’ll hit the brick wall at the end of the tunnel – you’re not going to get any more from the other side.

When this happens, you’ve reached the end of the negotiation. You need to take a moment and asses where you are. Can you live with the deal that is currently on the table?

You need to realize that if you can’t, then you are going to have to start negotiations all over with another partner. However, if you can live with the deal, then you are very close to being done.

Assuming that the deal that gets written down accurately reflects what you think that you verbally agreed to (it doesn’t always!), then you’ve successfully negotiated a deal.

What All Of This Means For You

Inexperienced sales negotiators can often get lost in the middle of a sales negotiation. They know how to start the negotiation; however, once it’s under way and they realize just how much distance there is between their position and the other side’s, they don’t know what to do next.

The correct thing to do is to realize that you need to spend time working to close the gaps. Once this has been done, you will be in for some hard negotiating in order to move towards closure. A deal isn’t done until both sides can agree on a written version of the agreement.

Professional sales negotiators have a secret weapon. They never give up hope no matter how difficult things get. That’s what makes the deals that they reach feel so good for both sides of the table.

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

Question For You: How can you tell when you’ve reached the end of a sales negotiation?

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

What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

We all know that power is an important part of any sales negotiation – who ever has the most power is in the best position to get more of what they want out of the negotiations. However, do you know how to check your power before you enter into a negotiation? I know the questions that you need to ask yourself before you start and I’m going to tell you what they are…

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4 Ways To Win A Sales Negotiation Before You Even Start

Friday, June 18th, 2010
Image CreditThe Secret To Winning Is To Cross The Finish Line Before You Sit Down

The Secret To Winning Is To Cross The Finish Line Before You Sit Down

Have you ever wished for three wishes? Maybe you’d keep one of these wishes in you back pocket and then someday when you found yourself in the middle of a sales negotiation that just wasn’t going your way, you could whip it out and come out a winner? Well, I don’t have any wishes to share with you, but I’ve got some ways for you to come out of your next negotiation feeling like you won it before you even started…

Plan On Getting To Win-Win

When we talk about the fabled “win-win” state in sales negotiations, what we’re really talking about is reaching a point in which both sides of the table feel as though they’ve gotten what they need and that they haven’t given up too much.
Getting to win-win doesn’t just happen. Instead, you have to plan on getting there. Taking the time before you start a negotiation to give some thought to just exactly what a win-win situation would look in the upcoming negotiation and then writing down how you might get there will make achieving this state that much more possible.

Divert Power To Your Defensive Shields

Anyone who has spent time watching old science fiction movies knows that before you take your starcruiser into battle you first activate and fully charge the defensive shields. It turns out that the same is true for sales negotiations.
It’s entirely possible that you may find yourself getting forced into a corner at some point during a negotiation. If this happens, then you need a defensive shield that you can activate. Two classic shields are the “I need time to think about this” ploy and the “appeal to a higher authority” ploy.
If you want to use these defenses correctly, then you need to take the time before the negotiations start to set things up so that you can use them: talk about your control-freak of a boss or how you ALWAYS need to spend time by yourself before making a big decision.

Clone Yourself

Remember back in school when the kids used to call the kid who wore glasses “4 eyes” (maybe it was you)? Well it turns out that having four eyes is actually better than having just two – in fact another set of ears can sure help out also.
Since we haven’t quite got that cloning thing squared away just yet, your best bet is to bring a colleague along with you to your next sales negotiation. There’s no way that you can possibly see everything, hear everything, or remember everything so having another person there who’s on your side can be a big help.

Find The Other Side’s Kryptonite

More often than not, you may feel as though you are getting ready to negotiate with Superman. They seem to have everything: more people, more resources, and a better starting position for the negotiation.
In reality, it turns out that their greatest strength is that you think that they are in a strong position. Before the negotiation starts, take some time to consider the world from their position. They really don’t have Superman’s powers – there has got to be some limits to what they can do. If you can identify these limits, then you will have taken away some of their power and boosted yours.

What All Of This Means For You

Everyone wants to walk away from their next sales negotiation feeling like they came out ahead. Sure you can just dive right in and hope for the best, or you boost your odds and take some steps to position yourself to succeed before the negotiation starts.
We’ve covered four steps that you can take in order to prepare for success. They all require you to find a quiet place and then mentally think though the upcoming negotiation and plan your moves. If you think about it, it’s really like getting ready for a chess match.
It is possible to position yourself to be successful in your next negotiation. All it takes is just a little bit of advanced planning and you can be a winner before you even start the race…

- Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting –
Your Source For Real World Negotiating Help For Technical Staff

Question For You: Do you think that the person that you bring along should work for your company or be an outsider?

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

What We’ll Be Talking About Next Time

I’m pretty sure that any sales negotiator who was given a choice would always choose to close a deal quicker rather than slower. Sure, there are probably some masochists out there, but let’s assume that everyone else would choose the quicker option. Great, now just exactly how do we go about doing this?

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Posted in planning | 1 Comment »

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