You’ve been negotiating your whole life, whether you’re aware of it or not. On an everyday basis, we negotiate with our family, friends, colleagues, customers, bosses, and the list goes on.
Even though it’s such a big part of our lives it doesn’t necessarily mean we can become experts over time without improving ourselves through learning.
The truth is, we only get to choose whether we negotiate better or worse than the other party involved.
What is Considered a Successful Negotiation?
A successful negotiation strategy allows you to secure the deal with the best possible outcome.
We have all heard of negotiation, but mastering it is something that doesn’t come across people’s minds so often. This could be sort of fruitful for you, as it is one of the key qualities sought after on the job market because a good negotiator can close the best deals.
It is worth mentioning that negotiation has a huge impact on the company’s business: According to Forbes, they could lose up to 42% of the total potential value if they had no negotiating strategy in place and operate by their ‘gut’.
To bring desired results, negotiators must obtain good interpersonal and communication skills first. This is where online negotiation courses come in handy.
What Are The 5 Stages of Negotiation?
Modern business organizations are usually loosely structured, having members that work remote and in the office, so colleagues have no direct authority over each other and they may not have the same manager, or even a boss.
This is where negotiation skills step into the spotlight; the last ray of hope for unifying separated parties and coming to an agreement that is suitable for everyone.
Five common stages of any negotiation process are:
- Preparation and Planning
- Definition of Ground Rules
- Clarification and Justification
- Bargaining and Problem Solving
- Closure and Implementation
But the party doesn’t stop there. For any major negotiations you will need to have a set of work-proven strategies in order to ensure a happy ending for both parties. Or at least one – Yours.
25 Negotiation Strategies You Must Master
1. Goals Introspection
First and foremost you must pinpoint what you are trying to achieve.
Next step is to carefully analyze the other party’s motives and their possible goals.
2. Gathering the Team
Knowing how to put together a successful team of negotiators is crucial for the business.
If you are operating in a group everyone should benefit from skills and expertise brought together to the table.
3. On Expectations and Achievements
It takes a certain mindset to succeed in any negotiation. An experiment showed that when people were told to expect a certain amount from their negotiation the amount they got in the end was around that specific number.
This further approves the belief behind the popular phrase ‘what you expect is what you get’. Do not underestimate the power of your own thoughts.
4. Relationships
Good negotiators are aware of the fact that positive negotiating outcomes always come as a result of good business relationships and they are developed over time.
This is why you should constantly look for opportunities to acquire new ones, while strengthening your existing relationships.
5. Know Your Client
Information is crucial for planning any negotiation strategy.
The more knowledge you have about the history, past problems or any sensitive points of the other party, the better position you’ll be in to negotiate.
6. Question of Trades
Best deals are made with asking open questions.
Always let the other side answer your question first because they may give you the better offer than you had in mind.
7. Consequences Matter
You should always consider consequences when getting into negotiations: Is this a big, one-off deal, or one of many smaller negotiations? Make sure you chart out what you and the other party stand to gain or lose so you can navigate better through the entire process.
8. Be Articulate & Build value
This factor separates the good negotiators from the rest. If you want to become a master at presenting your thoughts and ideas you need to have a strong belief in what you’re negotiating for.
Always be direct when presenting a situation and clear about what is expected. Discuss the consequences and how your solution will be beneficial to the other party.
9. Responding to “What-Ifs”
You should never answer a ‘what-if’ question immediately. Take time to think regardless of how you choose to defend your interest.
You can always respond with another question to see where they’re heading to.
10. First Offer Trap
It’s a common mistake in business to accept the first offer from the buyer. For example, if you are selling your property consider countering at a higher price or better terms upon receiving an offer.
If you don’t do so, the other party could come to the conclusion that they offered too much and may attempt to get out of the deal.
11. The Power Of Delay
Even if you’re in a rush to close the deal, you should negotiate their last price one more time. Buyer may grow suspicious of your trade’s quality/worth if you let them lower the price just above your absolute low, so always try to make them raise their offer.
12. Win-Win Negotiation
A fair-share technique used in cases where both parties are dedicated to finding a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Realization can come in various forms, for example: If you can’t convince the other party to offer you a better price, maybe you can obtain more services or better payment terms for the same amount. It’s all about good will.
13. The Bogey Strategy
In essence, this strategy is based on tricking your counterpart into thinking that the amount you’re ready to offer is all you got.
For example, if you were to renovate your home and the local seller sends you an offer for $20,000, you can tell them that your budget is $15,000 and let them either take your offer or let you know what is doable for your money. In the meantime you can conduct a price research that will help you make an informed decision.
14. Power
Negotiating power plays a major role in every type of negotiation. It is represented in each party’s perception of its strength or weakness in comparison to the other.
The rest is simply maths: the more negotiating power one side has over the other, the fewer concessions they’ll have to make.
You will probably have to juggle between eight common sources of power which are need, time, skills, options, knowledge, credibility, relationships and investment.
15. Pressure Points
You bow to your pressures and so does the other party. Pressure points are at work in every negotiation; either you are applying them or the other party is using them on you.
By understanding the central pressures of your counterpart you’ll negotiate yourself a better deal.
For example when purchasing a property you should watch out for three crucial negotiating pressure points:
- Options
It is important to convince the seller that you have more options than they do to gain power over them.
- Time
You could find yourself a terrific buy if a vendor is highly motivated and under time pressure.
- Knowledge
The side with the most knowledge about the property market will do better in negotiations.
16. Take It or Leave It Situation
You should stay away from this strategy if you can’t or you’re not willing to walk away from the table for good.
On the other hand, creating a ‘take it or leave it’ situation can come in handy when the other party can’t afford to bail out, or in cases if you’d be selling at a loss, or when you want to discourage any future haggling with a specific client.
17. Overcoming the Impasse
When the parties haven’t found a mutually beneficial zone of agreement there are various techniques for overcoming the impasse such as moving from the sticky issue, changing the negotiator, using a mediator and so on.
18. Deadline
Deadlines are as real as the beholder believes them to be, yet you can never be certain that a negotiation deadline is real, so be wary of them.
19. Final Offer
Don’t jump to conclusions as you never know if an ultimatum is truly their last offer.
When faced with one having a best alternative to negotiated agreement will help you keep a level head.
20. Deadlock
Deadlock is one of the negotiators’ worst nightmares as when it occurs neither side is willing to give in at all, and no agreement can be made.
In fact, creating deadlock on purpose is a way for some negotiators to make sure they have drained every last drop of advantage for themselves before agreeing to any deal.
It could come off as a powerful move, but use this technique sparingly as it’s uncomfortable for the both parties, and it could cost you if you miscalculate.
21. How To Deal With Escalations
It’s not uncommon for a client to slide in additional requests when you already obliged to the previous ones. This is why you need to stand your ground with escalations of your own, such as letting them know their proposed terms are unacceptable.
You are surely taking a risk but you’re also sending a very strong message that they can’t have it their way.
22. Expected outcomes
Apart from guessing the most likely outcome of the coming negotiation it’s important to think about the best & worst cases scenarios before going to the table. Don’t lose it if the current situation doesn’t favor you, but rather reevaluate all positions and return to the game.
In most cases, a middle ground can usually be reached as long as you know the highest and lowest expectations of each party.
23. Alternatives
In case you can’t reach the desired goal you should always have at least one alternative to a negotiated agreement.
You can often find unexpected solutions to difficult situations by brainstorming various ideas. Having a number of options will secure your position.
24. Final Agreement
Contract negotiation is one final step before signing the deal. This is when both parties iron out the details of the contract before committing to it.
A strategy for successfully bringing the negotiation process to an end involves acting credibly and recognizing when the other party is not following in our footsteps.
Another important point is not losing sight of the overall objective to diminish the chance of failing to address or resolve an important term of the contract.
25. Closure
Signing the contract is the most important part of every negotiation.
Before this occurs you should consider going over the legal issues with the attorney since without fool-proof documentation you may be left without a deal.
What Are The Benefits of Negotiation Training?
We engage in negotiations daily through our personal and business interactions. Whether these interactions are simple or complex, their context remains the same: problem-solving or finding creative solutions.
By elevating your negotiation skills you can increase your ability to communicate, listen, and negotiate more effectively.
What Are The Benefits of Online Negotiation Certificate?
The main benefit that you can obtain from an online negotiation certificate training is improving your effectiveness along with increasing your organization’s productivity.
Online negotiation programs are teaching students proven negotiating strategies and tactics while exposing them to the latest discoveries in the areas of psychology such as buying behavior and decision making.
The agenda of online negotiation courses is to help students to develop a systematic approach to negotiating and decision making by having them learn and utilize work-proven techniques that will dramatically improve their performance.
On an online negotiation training, you will be able to recognize and overcome flaws in your current delivery. Thus, you get to learn to analyze situations better and to successfully learn from your future negotiating experiences.
What Can You Learn in an Online Negotiation Course?
Negotiation skills can affect all parts of your life: from closing a business deal to negotiating your annual income to selling your property and even dealing with your household members.
During online negotiation certificate training, you will learn how to be a successful negotiator through active listening and understanding of the other’s party limitations.
Some of the many outcomes from obtaining an online negotiation certificate are:
- Getting more success in your deals by persuading and successfully influencing your clients;
- Becoming able to create more value by understanding the wants and needs of colleagues and counterparts;
- Becoming prepared to navigate challenging deals, while expanding their value relying upon online course tool-sets;
- Learning how to negotiate in a team and acquiring the role of lead negotiator;
- Learning how to draw out empowering lessons by reviewing your future negotiations;
- Identifying your personal negotiation style, and learning how to shift between other styles when in demand;
- Becoming confident about your preparation methods and obtained skills.
If you are interested in upgrading your negotiation skills, feel free to contact us and we will help you get started. Also, feel free to check our other programs.
