5 Negotiation Skills To Manage Clients

You’re negotiating whether you’re working out the specifics of a multimillion-dollar corporate deal, assigning duties to your project team, or simply wrangling over where to get takeout. And the better you are at it, the more likely you are to be pleased with the results. Furthermore, if you utilize your bargaining abilities well, the individuals with whom you are negotiating will be pleased as well.

To manage clients I’ve condensed that list of ten abilities into only the five most crucial for you to begin within this post.

1. Decide what you want to achieve in your negotiations

You may think this is self-evident, yet the majority of individuals who enter a negotiation haven’t considered what they want to get out of it.

There are three essential questions you should ask yourself to get clear on your objectives:

• What is the most favorable outcome? Let’s assume you’re trying to sell a product, service, or company. What’s the highest price you could realistically ask for? Is your service contract worth $50,000? Or maybe $22 million to sell your business?
• What is the bottom line for you? The least acceptable offer is referred to as this. What is the lowest offer you would take if you were the seller? And, if you’re the buyer, how much are you willing to pay?
• Do you have a backup plan? This is your « BATNA, » or best alternative to a negotiated agreement, according to Roger Fisher and William Ury of the Harvard Negotiation Project and authors of Getting to Yes. What will you do if you are unable to strike a compromise?

Of course, you shouldn’t reveal your responses to questions A and B, but you should be aware of all of these details before entering the room. Even if you’re not sure what your responses are, just having a hunch might assist. Negotiating will get simpler as you gain clarity on each of these components.

As a result, you should make it a point to spend more time nailing down the answers to these three questions as you deal with more and more critical discussions.

2. Decide on your primary negotiating strategy

The significance of entering a negotiation with a core negotiating strategy was the second key concept we discussed (CNS). Lorraine, one of my retreat business coaching clients, mentioned a very intriguing negotiating problem she’s having. She owns both the 6,000-square-foot business structure and the acre of property on which it is located.

The city, on the other hand, wants to put an eight-foot easement on her property’s front, which will eliminate her parking lot. Lorraine stated she would inform the municipal planning department representative that the easement had a negative and unfair impact on the value of her property when I inquired what her approach was.

However, I pointed out that a city planner’s property worth might not be a priority for her. So I asked Lorraine to explain why it reduces the value of her home. One of the reasons, it turns out, is that she has a lot of large, industrial vehicles that come in and out of her property with a lot of heavy machinery. If the city removes her eight feet of land, the trucks will have to reverse onto the street to go in and out.

So I proposed: « If it were up to me, I wouldn’t enter the discussion by the value and fairness doorway. Rather, I’d enter via the security and liability entryway. I believe that having the trucks reverse into the street is unsafe and that it exposes both me and the city to a significant amount of responsibility. And that’s exactly what developing a core negotiation strategy entails: determining which doorway you want to use to enter the negotiation. That entryway might be one of safety and liability or value, competition, or future business.

Again, if the discussion is modest – say, if you’re buying $1,200 worth of equipment – you’re unlikely to expend a lot of time gathering data. Even so, you might spend five minutes on the internet researching cost and alternatives elsewhere. You can then enter through the competition’s entryway. « Who are your rivals ? » you might wonder. Why don’t all of your customers buy from you?

You may get a better price or better terms just by asking questions like these. This is what the second stage is all about: figuring out the plan that will get you closer to your ideal goal.

3. Recognize your signature in the negotiation

In negotiations, just like with paperwork, you have a « signature. » That signature represents how you normally do business. Some individuals attempt to undercut the competition on price. Others are frightened to seek help because they feel intimidated. Those individuals bargain quietly and frequently agree. Others are terrific at developing a connection, but as the subject shifts to price and terms, all of that warmth vanishes. They abruptly change gears from discussion to bargaining.

Knowing what you’re dealing with begins with understanding your default signature. This is a very important phase in your development as a negotiator since there’s one thing you can count on in negotiations: you’ll be there every time. When the talks begin, you won’t be able to ask yourself to go. So learn to know your personality, interests, and style. Determine what kind of conduct you’ve exhibited in the past, as well as how at ease you were throughout previous discussions.

4. Inspire yourself

 Draw out why the other side wants to strike a deal is one of the most powerful things you can do in a negotiation. Asking questions and establishing bargaining roots are two ways to do this.

If you’re buying IT services, for example, say something like, « Tell me about your IT services. » I’m constantly bombarded with emails offering IT services. What sets you apart from your rivals’ offerings ?

Questioning your negotiating adversary about their competitors and why they want to cooperate with you – what’s in it for them – increases their drive.

5. Reluctant Party is a game that you may play with your friends

 It is natural for one party to be enthusiastic while the other is hesitant in any discussion. That may not be the case 100% of the time, but it is most likely the case 80% of the time. And let me tell you something: I despise gambling, but if you offer me 80 percent odds, I’ll go to Vegas and spend the entire day at the tables. When the odds are in your favor, you just must throw them down. Assume that your negotiation will go like most others: one party will be enthusiastic, while the other will be hesitant. And if you employ these three strategies, you’ll be the hesitant one.

• Use your body language to express your apprehension. Consider how ecstatic parties appear: tight, and they lean forward with their feet beneath them, as if they could jump to their feet or dash at any moment. Reluctant parties, on the other hand, take a step back from the table and maintain a low level of tension in their body. They signal that they are not eager to negotiate a transaction by positioning their feet in front of their bodies at 90-degree angles and rounding their shoulders.
• Consider how you might change the tone of your voice to make it seem more hesitant. Reluctant parties speak slowly and quietly, but eager parties speak rapidly and at a greater volume and pitch. This also causes their voices to become lower in pitch, making them appear even more hesitant.
• Finally, keep in mind that hesitant parties often qualify their words. « I’m not sure if we could accomplish X, » they remark. Or, if we could do it, would this work for you ? They also have a lot of questions and challenges for you. « Yeah ! », they never say. Let’s get this party started ! They aren’t enthralled. Everything is qualified and muted in its presentation. You may compel your opponent to play the eager party just by playing the reluctant party.

Conclusion

The first step toward improving performance and results is to change the way you think about bargaining. Instead of a succession of concessions for both parties, this may be accomplished through cooperative problem-solving. Recognizing why individuals act the way they do and being able to communicate effectively with a wide range of behavioral patterns allows the competent negotiator to get more consistent results. It’s good to stick to a plan or strategy. Understanding the negotiation styles of the individuals you’re dealing with and adapting your approach accordingly might be the difference between success and failure.