In part 1 I discussed 4 areas which will help you negotiate better, having an outcome, understanding their intention, creating win-win scenarios and appealing to their desires. These are not the only aspects which you can work on to boost your negotiation ability. There are 4 more important areas.
Negotiation is fluid and has multiple areas which contribute to a successful negotiation. My biggest suggestion would be to practice. The only way to practice is to put yourself in negotiation scenarios, which will ultimately come with rejection. We all have this innate fear of being rejected. That we are not good enough. This is why internal fear plays such a big role in negotiations.
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Overcoming your fear
People are terrified of failure. What will my friends say? What will my wife and kids this of me? What will my Boss say? Will I lose out on the promotion? Will my business fail if I don’t secure this deal?
From speaking to colleagues, reading books, going to seminars, listening to podcasts, experiencing it with my own teams and facing my own fears, I’ve learnt that fear of failure is what stops people going in to a negotiation with confidence. So below are several points on how to reduce then eliminate the fear of failure during negations:
- Ensure you are prepared. Don’t go into a negotiation half-arsed.
- Believe in failing forwards. Failing is not failure.
- Go and do it. Put yourself in the situations you are afraid of and try.
- Believe in yourself. This will show confidence.
- Keep learning new ways to improve your skills
- Practice
Follow through with your actions
Do what you say you will do to build trust. Trust will make further negotiations easier. Trust is something that is built up over time and the only way to build trust is to deliver. If you agree to something, do it. If you don’t, you will lose that trust with the opposite party.
Ask and listen
If you want to know what they are thinking, ask! Ask questions from different angles to peak their interest, emotions and desires. This will allow you get a better understanding of what they are thinking. This will also help you lead in times of crisis.
Body language
I suggest doing research into body language. By subtly watching the opposites body language you will get a feeling for whether they are interested or bored. I recall a seminar where the Master Communicator, Dr Rohan Weerasinghe, showed me incredible techniques to which he connected to someone’s emotions through body language.
It was insane, by mimicking body language exactly I was able to guess and feel exactly how the other person was feeling. It was powerful stuff and definitely one of those, must do experiences!
Thank you for reading, JT.
How to reference this article
- Toor, J. (2019). How to negotiate better, part 2? Available at: https://pmgrowth.co/how-to-negotiate-better,-part-2?
Inspirations
- Dr Rohan Weerasinghe, the Master Communicator