How to Negotiate Effectively in Business? Negotiation is a process of dialogue between two or more parties. The talks are carried out in order to achieve a satisfactory settlement for the interested parties, regardless of whether an agreement is reached or not, it is called negotiation. This way serves to resolve conflicts, not only in everyday life but also in the workplace and business, we must remember that communication is the best way to convey our ideas, avoid discussions and win the trust of our customers.
How to Negotiate Effectively in Business
Here are several techniques to learn how to negotiate effectively.
- Define the objective
Determine if you want to close a deal in general then negotiate the specific points, or start with the details. If your purpose is to form a strategic alliance, then the most effective will be to negotiate in general, but if your purpose is to negotiate a particular purchase, then you must negotiate the specific first.
- Sort the information
Write your main interests and rank them by importance. This way you can offer a better position regarding your needs.
- Dominate your market
It is fundamental to know the field in which you will be negotiating. If your counterpart is a customer that belongs to the automotive industry, very competitive in costs, you will have to immediately detect that one of your priorities is the price; While if the customer belongs to the pharmaceutical industry, their most likely priority is product safety, for example.
- Offers options
Propose alternatives that your client can analyze without compromise. What happens if I pay in two months? What is the price if I pay cash?
- Identifies solutions
Ask yourself what would happen if you do not reach an agreement with the other party: what is the worst that can happen. Remember that both parties should feel comfortable with the outcome of the negotiation.
- Avoid surprises
The worst thing that can happen to you at the negotiation table is when the customer surprises you with a posture that you had not thought of. How do you avoid it? With preparation, visualizing each of the possible scenarios, being creative.
It can be called negotiation, as an art of communication in which a strategy must be carried out to achieve the objectives of the company.
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Skills a good Negotiator should bring
Negotiating is one of the best ways to solve problems or conflicts. A good business negotiation goes beyond getting a discount or a cheaper price. To be a good negotiator you must have knowledge and experience over time, there is no other way to achieve it.
Learning from other experts is important, however small the teaching has significant value. In this way you will gather skills that will increase your self-esteem and confidence. According to a study published in the blog Business Study Notes, these skills are:
- Active listening
Spends 80% of the time of the negotiation listening to the other and uses the questions properly. This allows you to have lots of information from the other party and make little of yourself known.
- Flexibility
Those who are rigid in their approaches do not know how to negotiate. You need to give in sometime. It is the quality of knowing how to adapt before the situations that are presented in the negotiation or before the needs of the other party
- Empathy
The ability to put yourself in the shoes of others. We must know how to listen and understand. Do not confuse the problem with people, with these, you have to be understanding.
- Self-control
Before attacks on the other parties, we should not lose control. A negotiator, who loses his nerves, has to lose, because he will lose perspective.
- Strategist
They understand negotiation as a process of tactics and tricks. Plan the entire negotiation process from the most important part, the preparation, to the follow-up of the agreement. Remember that negotiation is present in our lives, not only in the workplace, but reaches our personal life on a daily basis. As the former US president said. John F. Kennedy, “never negotiate from fear, nor fear negotiation”
Hello everyone! This is Richard Daniels, a full-time passionate researcher & blogger. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. He loves to write about economics, e-commerce, and business-related topics for students to assist them in their studies. That's the sole purpose of Business Study Notes.
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