Whether you want to close a $10 million round or just deciding where to meet for lunch, life is rife with negotiations. You might lose business or the respect of your team members if you can’t negotiate.Or, you might fail to solve problems that better negotiators can breeze through.
While even the word “negotiation” can evoke fear, stress and anxiety for many, the intent is quite simple: to discuss and ultimately agree on a deal. And, the negotiation process is a lot like a chess game where strategy reigns supreme — one thoughtfully considered move at a time. Make a careless, short-sighted, ill-conceived move and suffer the perilous consequences.
Here are some of the mistakes that everyone needs to avoid while negotiating,
Threatening To Walk Away: Especially when your vendor is wealthy, they don’t care if you leave. They’ll let you walk straight away. Personally, if someone threatened me to leave, I’d tell them I’m going to raise the prices, tell them they have five minutes to make a decision at the price we’re at now, or leave. If they ever want to come back, their name will be documented in the system at the higher price and there would be no way around it.
Making The First Offer: It’s better to make the person who is purchasing the item make the first offer, so you can react to it properly and show them how unusual it is to think it’s possible to get the item they want at the price they do.
Accepting The First Offer: If someone doesn’t low ball you and gives you a fair price, you can still get a slight bump. Don’t leave money on the table. Get the bump.
Speaking Out Of Turn: Negotiating is between two parties. It is a civilized conversation. People should talk individually, listen, and respond. Making a scene or talking over another party is just offensive and rude. I’d personally end the deal and send you home. Maybe even give you bus fare with how offended I am.
Not Pausing: People need time to process the offer in their mind and think it over. Without pausing, the other party can’t properly think over if the offer works. The silence also pressures them to speak.
Negotiating Without Focus: A negotiation is a highly focused environment when both parties have an ultimate goal. Lack of focus on what is going on can end the deal.
Then there’s the person who says they’re the decision maker: It doesn’t matter if you’re the CEO to a fortune 500 company. You never position yourself as the actual final decision maker. Say you have to bounce it off a CFO or something. That way, you have an exit if things don’t go well and you can walk away.
Did I miss something? Let’s discuss in the comment section.
