The goal of any negotiation is to get the other side of the table to see things your way. Hmm, how are we going to make that happen? What you are going to have to do is to become skilled at finding ways to support the position that you are taking. In order to get better at doing this, I've got 5 tips that will boost your skills...
Tips For Reaching A Deal Faster
If you want to be able to reach a deal with the other side of the table faster, then you're going to have to take the time to give some thought to what it's going to take in order to get them to see things your way. In other words, you've got some persuading to do. Here's how to make that happen:
- Move From Easy To Hard: Experienced negotiators know that it's always a good idea to start a negotiation by tackling an issue that both sides are going to be able to easily reach an agreement on. Once you've got this success under your belt, then move on and start to tackle the tougher issues that are going to be more controversial.
- Say It Again: I know that I've said this several times before, but I don't think that I can say it enough - during a sales negotiation, it never hurts to repeat yourself. The more often that you say something, the better the chances that your message is going to be heard by the other side of the table and that it will be understood. Yeah, it might sound silly to you, but repeat yourself enough and you'll be amazed at what happens.
- Understand To Build Trust: One of the biggest challenges that every negotiator has is that they want to be understood by the other side of the table. What this means for you is that the more that the other side believes that you understand what they are saying (and why they are saying it), the better your chances of reaching a deal are. Take the time to show the other side that you get what they are saying and you'll build trust with them which will lead to greater cooperation.
- Head Off Issues Early: As part of your planning for your next negotiation, you need to take a look at all of the issues that will be discussed. Not all issues are created the same. For those issues that you know that are going to create resistance from the other side of the table, you need to be proactive and take action before they are even brought up. What you are going to want to do is to defuse the issue so that when both sides start to discuss it in earnest, it's no longer such a controversial issue.
- Success By Association: If there is an issue that will be part of your next negotiation that has a great deal of controversy associated with it and there is no way to defuse it, then you've got to get creative. If the issue gets discussed by itself, you're going to be in for a rough time. However, if you can find a way to associate this controversial issue with another issue that is less controversial then you'll be more likely to be able to reach agreement on it.
What All Of This Means For You
Every negotiation has the same goal in mind: finding a way for all parties involved to reach a successful deal. The challenge comes from finding a way to get from where everyone starts out to agreeing on that deal in the end.
Skilled negotiators know that they need find ways to support their position if they want to have any hope of reaching a deal in a reasonable amount of time. In order to make this happen, you can use the 5 tips that we've discussed in order to steer the other side of the table towards the deal that you want to strike. Try them out and you'll be amazed at how much quicker you're able to wrap-up your next negotiating session!
