Rules for conducting successful negotiations

Negotiations are part of life and they persecute a person everywhere, not just in business. We do not think about this, we all often need to negotiate: with friends, family and even with ourselves. When you have the knowledge and negotiation skills, you can build trust and good relationships. Here are some useful tips to consider, if you want your negotiations to be successful.

Determine the purpose of your negotiations.

You always need to know what kind of result you want to get before the talks begin.

It’s a bit like your daily plans, for example, when you plan your vacation. First think about your destination – where you want to finish, and then work in the opposite direction to choose the best way to get there.

In negotiations, as in life: if you do not have your own plan, you will be part of the stranger.

Try to understand the purpose of the interlocutor.

People do what is beneficial to them, not what is beneficial to you. In preparing for negotiations, most people focus only on their own needs. However, to get the best offer, you need to consider the needs and desires of the interlocutor. Find out what the other side wants, show sincere interest in this and show that the achievement of their goal is also your goal, among other things. And then help get it.

The goal of the negotiations is WIN / WIN.

The Win-win strategy (or the Harvard method of negotiation) is created when we help another person to get what they want while we get what we want. This is to ensure that both sides feel that they have won. Using this strategy allows a person to win simultaneously, while avoiding the negative consequences of his victory.

The customer is not always right.

The client is not always right and not always the client who wants to buy from you – your client. The ability to say “no” can be very useful in this situation. Of course, in this case, you need to argue your answer and discuss what you can offer.

Remember that your decision can entail the labor and financial costs of your company. Yes, often customers want everything at once, but forget about one of the most important rule “The wider you smear, the thinner the layer”.

Ask more questions.

The person who asks most questions controls the negotiations and determines its content and direction.

Asked questions, as a rule, create an atmosphere of trust and serve as an indicator of what you are interested in, as the interlocutor says. Moreover, the more information you get from it, the more useful it will bring to you.

Listen carefully – this is the basis of influence.

The person who listens best will always have the greatest impact on the results of the negotiations. Instead of spending most of the time negotiating, outlining the dignity of their point of view, an experienced negotiator will spend more time listening to the other side.

Remember, people do not care about what you say until they find out that you care about what they say.

Create a positive atmosphere from the beginning to the end of the meeting.

The mood of stakeholders is of great importance in successful negotiations.

Take care that the first impression of the upcoming meeting was excellent, and then do not stop there. After all, what, how are not positive emotions make deals ?

Choose the right position at the negotiating table.

An important role in achieving a positive outcome of negotiations is the interposition of the interlocutors.

If you have a quadrangular table, you can create four positions for negotiations.

Angular position – allows you to clearly see the eyes and gestures of the visitor, create a sense of his own importance, freedom and naturalness of behavior, openness and sincerity. Such a position you show your respect and friendliness.

The position of cooperation means the equal rights of the interlocutors and full trust between them. The fact is that most often so sit friends and people engaged in a common cause. This is what contributes to creating an informal atmosphere of conversation with the maximum sincerity of both participants.

Competing-defensive position means that the table is a barrier between the interlocutors. This leads to the fact that each side defends its point of view. A situation is created, “who-who” will win.

Independent position – means that people do not really want to communicate with each other, and sometimes they feel mutual dislike. This indicates a lack of interest in conversation or even hostility. It is better to avoid this position when negotiating.

Be confident in yourself and what you offer.

Confidence has a huge impact on the behavior of the negotiators and what they ultimately achieve. You should have in mind the only task – to convince the interlocutor that he can’t afford to miss the chance to make a deal with you.

Almost at every negotiation it comes to the price and its reduction. But in order to get the best offer, you have to fight for it and stick to the key points. It is much more effective to justify the price of your product, highlighting its advantages. If not, you will not get the best offer. Not for nothing because luxury and premium brands do not make discounts and sales. They instill in their customers a sense of inferiority.

Be proud of your price and the benefits that your product or service provides.

The success of the negotiations is to always conclude a constructive agreement and negotiate in such a way that a sustainable win-win strategy is created for all the parties involved. We wish you a good luck and successful negotiations !