10 cardinal rules for a successful negotiation.
Negotiation is an essential part of daily life and crucial to a successful business. Unfortunately, negotiation is also a fine art – and one that doesn’t come naturally to every broker. Here, are the 10 cardinal rules for a successful negotiation.
Never negotiate with anyone who is not qualified to negotiate.
If you do find yourself negotiating with someone who is not qualified, you should shift your approach to only looking to obtain information.
Never put things into writing unless you're prepared to live with them.
If you do put anything in writing, it must include specific expiration dates and information that could be interpreted in several different ways to give you the ability to control how the information is used.
Always have room to give something the other person will deem as a perceived benefit.
Know when to walk away and be confident in doing so.
To execute this requires the ‘walk-away point’ being shared in advance with others in your company to ensure accountability is in place if and when this tactic has to be used.
Know at least five things the other person wants that you can offer.
Know at least five things you can say that will discount what the other person is offering (price not included).
Always treat the other person with respect and dignity.
Never allow the negotiation to become personal in nature. This applies even to those situations where a close personal relationship may exist. If a negotiation does become personal in nature, do not hesitate to step away and arrange a follow-up time to resume negotiating.
Never enter a negotiating process until both sides are clear on what is being negotiated.
By doing this up front, it’s possible to avoid a waste of time and, more importantly, inadvertently negotiate things that don’t need to be discussed.
Always put the negotiated outcome in writing immediately.
Do not leave issues open for further discussion. When putting information into writing, it is acceptable to put it into writing as you see it. This then becomes your opening position when the negotiation process resumes...
Upon reaching an agreement, thank the other party, but do not celebrate!
Celebrating the completion of a negotiation will always leave the other party feeling you ‘won’. It will automatically put you at a disadvantage when the next sales or negotiation event begins.
This is a slightly amended version of an article written by Mark Hunter, author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price. It has been shortened to make it suitable for web publishing
Never negotiate with anyone who is not qualified to negotiate.
If you do find yourself negotiating with someone who is not qualified, you should shift your approach to only looking to obtain information.
Never put things into writing unless you're prepared to live with them.
If you do put anything in writing, it must include specific expiration dates and information that could be interpreted in several different ways to give you the ability to control how the information is used.
Always have room to give something the other person will deem as a perceived benefit.
Know when to walk away and be confident in doing so.
To execute this requires the ‘walk-away point’ being shared in advance with others in your company to ensure accountability is in place if and when this tactic has to be used.
Know at least five things the other person wants that you can offer.
Know at least five things you can say that will discount what the other person is offering (price not included).
Always treat the other person with respect and dignity.
Never allow the negotiation to become personal in nature. This applies even to those situations where a close personal relationship may exist. If a negotiation does become personal in nature, do not hesitate to step away and arrange a follow-up time to resume negotiating.
Never enter a negotiating process until both sides are clear on what is being negotiated.
By doing this up front, it’s possible to avoid a waste of time and, more importantly, inadvertently negotiate things that don’t need to be discussed.
Always put the negotiated outcome in writing immediately.
Do not leave issues open for further discussion. When putting information into writing, it is acceptable to put it into writing as you see it. This then becomes your opening position when the negotiation process resumes...
Upon reaching an agreement, thank the other party, but do not celebrate!
Celebrating the completion of a negotiation will always leave the other party feeling you ‘won’. It will automatically put you at a disadvantage when the next sales or negotiation event begins.
This is a slightly amended version of an article written by Mark Hunter, author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price. It has been shortened to make it suitable for web publishing
