Negotiation Fundamentals

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Now do we have your attention? Congratulations, now you’ve realized that you’ve been negotiating your entire life. Negotiation is every decision making process with another party where each one of you have different needs and goals. A good negotiator masters the ability to find a mutually acceptable solution while capturing all the value that is available to be obtained.

If you want to be successful in a negotiation make sure you are well prepared in advance.

The power of doing your homework Your best strategy when going into a negotiation is to thoroughly research and do your homework well in advance. This leaves little space for you to be caught unprepared or surprised by the counterpart.

Listen carefully Letting the other party talk first will create an advantage for you. The more people talk, the more they give away. This will provide unspoken cues about their intentions and help you prepare a strong case.

Go for a Win Win outcome Negotiation tries to support stronger and long lasting relationships. It's like a two way street. Consider the other party’s stance and attempt to come up with a solution where everyone can walk away happy.

Practice, practice, practice You can only master a skill through practice. Think about which concepts you would like to apply most assiduously to your negotiations and actively practice them, both at work and at home.

Leadership and influence are done through people Nowadays you work with multiple teams, collaborate across boundaries, or rely on multiple partners and stakeholders. Because of this, personal influence has become an essential leadership skill. By influencing, you are able to personally affect others' actions, decisions, opinions, or thinking.

How can you get things done when dealing with multiple teams and stakeholders?

What tactics should you use in order to influence people?

Find the right person to talk to. Going straight to the top is not a move that could guarantee you success.

Do your research, find out how the organisation works, who does what, what's important to the person you are contacting and personalize your request.

Find the win - win for both parties – think about what benefit you can provide to the person or company you are reaching out to.

Make it easy for people to help you by providing them more insights and clarifications.

Be clear about what you want and avoid surprises. If you want a partnership, outline the reciprocal benefits upfront.

Be mindful of other people's schedule and don't put pressure on getting what you want as soon as possible.

Don't forget to show your gratitude. Other people's help is not a given.

It doesn't matter who you meet as long as you know your product very well and are clear about what you need.

If my colleague has promised to help me, then he should start focusing on my issue as soon as possible.