Stuart Zadel presents the 6 crucial steps for you to master the art of negotiation and succeed with it.
How do you win in a negotiation?
The ability to sell and the ability to negotiate are perhaps two of the most important skills you can have in business and in life. In fact, negotiating is probably the most highly paid work you’ll ever do. Think of it this way: if you get $100 extra when selling a bike and it only takes 5 minutes to do so, you are effectively earning $1200/hour. So many traditional sales coaches have steps to sell; however, when we talk about the steps in negotiation, not many people tend to know what it involves.
“The first step of making money on a property is getting it for the right price.”
Wayne Berry
Negotiation Expert and Author, ‘How to make the Best Sale Every Time’ Wayne Berry
FIRST STEP: SOLID PREPARATION
The ‘average negotiator’ turns up to a deal with no preparation whatsoever. If you don’t know exactly what you want to achieve, as well as how high or low you’re willing to go, you can quickly find yourself in a situation where you agree to a poor outcome.
Wayne commented, “Generally, average negotiators will do zero preparation before turning up. They sometimes even turn up at the wrong place!”
SECOND STEP: BUILD RAPPORT – OR NOT
There will be a number of negotiation circumstances in which building a rapport with the other party is beneficial. They like you; you like them; you both want to help each other reach a win/win deal. On the other hand, a negotiation can be a battle of the minds, so occasionally, you may want to steer clear of building a rapport with the other party. In this situation, you can be left open to manipulation and all sorts of mind games. Your job is to make quick judgement with what the scenario warrants and run with it.
THIRD STEP: GATHER INFORMATION
The first few minutes of discussion is the prime time to start this process. Ask questions and find out what the other party really wants. You could ask two quick questions, and all of a sudden you realise they don’t want what you originally thought they wanted. A deal can go pear-shaped if you enter a negotiation with a skewed idea of what they want. You can end up offering more, getting less, or completely missing the target altogether.
FOURTH STEP: EXPLORING THE OPTIONS
Wayne suggests, “Let them put forth what they would like first before you start offering options. Ask them ‘What do you want from this and how do you think we might go about getting this?’” By adopting a cooperative attitude, you encourage helpfulness from the other party and a mutual desire for a win/win result. But note that this isn’t always that simple.
Some people feel that in order for them to win, you need to lose. Our tip – make this type of person feel like you have given them something (even if you actually haven’t!). For example, if you are leasing a property that already comes with garden maintenance which they may not be aware of, be sure to add this in as an additional incentive when negotiating.
FIFTH STEP: NEVER GIVE CONCESSIONS
While you can lead a person to believe that they’ve won something out of the deal, it’s important to never actually give them any concessions. Only trade them. If you’re good at giving things away, the other party will pick up on that and ask for more.
Try using the phrase, “I’m not sure if that’s possible, but if I was able to do that for you, why would you be able to do for me?” This opens to book to more options.
SIXTH STEP: PUT THE DEAL IN WRITING
Have you ever had an agreement go sour on you because your recollection was different from their recollection? This step is where most negotiations come un-stuck. By putting it in writing, it is cemented and finalised. In addition to that, it gives you time and space to consider all the steps required to cover yourself, plus it provides an opportunity for you to clarify all the minor details of the agreement.
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