2 | Successful Negotiations: Mastering Persuasion
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2. Be Prepared
We've all heard the old saying, "knowledge is
power." In the case of negotiations, there couldn't
be more truth to this statement! When you have
done your homework for any type of negotiation,
you automatically put yourself in a better position;
the more you know, the better your chances are
for speaking in an articulate fashion and making
your key points clear and concise. It's pretty safe
to say that once you make one false statement or
assertion, your credibility can be lost; therefore,
if you prepare adequately, you will be able to
speak to many facets of the issues at hand with
confidence and conviction—and you'll also give
the other negotiators a reason to work a little
harder!
3. Show Agreement Early
Even though it's clear that you're negotiating
because there is some degree of disagreement
between you and the other negotiators, it is still
helpful to establish common ground early on. For
instance, "I think we can both agree that we have
an issue that we both want to resolve today" is a
good way to start the negotiation off on the right
foot. It will help set a positive tone, which will
help significantly later on in the negotiation when
things get more intense.
4. Demonstrate What's in It for Them
How can what you want also bring value to the
other party? For example, perhaps you want to
negotiate a pay raise with your current employer.
You would first want to show your employer what
value you are delivering to your organization and
your list of accomplishments over the past year
(concrete examples work best, and numbers work
even better!). If you take the effort to show them
why you're such a great employee and why they
are lucky to have you on their team, you have a
much better chance of getting them to see your
point of view.
