As a smaller sales organization in this industry you don�t have an army of lawyers or a pile of money to pay them. You�re walking the streets every day trying to make an honest living. One of the most important skills you�ll use with your vendors and merchants is the art of negotiation. So, I�ve decided to write an outline to negotiating based on a class I took some years ago, that has served me well. Believe it or not there is a science to negotiating.
The 5 major reasons people resist.
- Anger/Fear/Hostility (this is an emotional response to change)
- Habit (some people always say no)
- Losing Face (once they�ve committed it�s tough to change)
- Win-Lose Mentality (they believe that it�s my way or the highway)
- Your Reaction (they are mirroring your reaction of a dug in position)
When faced with a negotiation or a turn of events, don�t react. Control your reactions.
The 3 most common reactions:
- Strike Back = try to roll over the other party with force
- Give In = cave in and be the martyr
- Break Off = run and hide to avoid confrontation
Instead you should try to:
- Disarm your opponent
- Change the game
- Make it easy to say yes
- Make it hard to say no
Remember: Breakthrough Negotia-ion is the art of letting the other person have their way.
- Determine you BATNA (Best alternative to a negotiated agreement)
- Strengthen your BATNA (have alternatives in place)
- Stay focused on your goal (know what you want before you start)l
How to achieve your BATNA or goal:
- Go to the balcony (never make an important decision on the spot or under pressure)
- Rewind the tape (paraphrase what the other party wants while you think)
- Pause (don�t say anything while you think, silence is OK)
- Call for a break (bathroom, smoke, phone call or anything to buy a minute)
Step to their side.
Listen, look for agreement, paraphrase and acknowledge their point.
Eliminate the word but and replace with yes and, make you statements into I statements to show understanding.
Change the Game.
Don�t reject�reframe, ask for their help or advice (act as if they�re interested in solving the problem) Why? and Why not? What If? and What makes that fair? Ask open-ended, eye-opening questions.
Words like is, isn�t, can, can�t, should be replaced with, How, Why, Why not, What or Who.
For example: �Mr. Pavent if you do that we�re going to have to stop paying your residuals.� Now normally I would react (big NO NO) with a strike back. �If you do that I�ll cut off your nuts in an alley some night� now that may work or may make them mad. But asking: �What makes that fair?� will force them to explain their position. Either way the three things you�ll mostly run into are:
- Stonewall
Go around try to move to another issue and come back later
- Attack
Make it an attack on the situation, don�t take it personally, deflect it to the subject.
- Tricks
Play dumb like a fox, by not directly exposing the trick but asking questions that do.
Make it easy to say YES.
- Not his idea (make it their idea)
- Overlooked one of their basic interests (ask questions and paraphrase)
- Losing Face (give them a logical way to look good)
- Too fast or overwhelmed (slow down and go over benefits)
- Build him a golden bridge (gently show why a negotiated agreement is better)
Always summarize your agreement when you�ve found common ground.
Make it hard for them to say NO!
Ask reality testing questions about what their BATNA might be or what you could do to them.
Make a direct statement of what will happen.
Make sure to keep it as a warning not a threat, (just a simple cause and effect statement).
If you follow this basic outline it should help you with one of the most important things you do on a day-to-day basis. I know it�s sure helped me.
|