How to Bargain Nicely: 6 Ways to Negotiate Without Being a ...

Many of us believe in a false dichotomy about negotiations: either you have to be really tough, or you're a pushover. HowtoBargainNicely:6WaystoNegotiateWithoutBeingaJerk ByJessicaWishart HowtoBargainNicely:6WaystoNegotiateWithoutBeingaJerk Thu,Jan13,2022@09:00AM AccountableLeaders&Teams Manyofusbelieveinafalsedichotomyaboutnegotiations:eitheryouhavetobereallytough,oryou’reapushover.Recently,ourRhythmSystemsteamalltookGallup’sStrengthsFinderassessmentandhadateambuildingdaywherewetalkedaboutourstrengthsandhowweprefertoworktogether.Noneofmytop5strengthsare“influencing”strengths,sonegotiationsarecertainlynotacomfortableplaceforme.I’mfarmorecomfortablewithrelationship-buildingthanpersuading. So,IwasgladtoreadCarolynO’Hara’sHBRarticle,"HowtoNegotiateNicelyWithoutBeingaPushover." Hereare6TipstoNegotiateSuccessfullyANDNicely: 1.Don’tfocusonwinningandlosing:Ifyousetuptheexpectationthatthere’sawinnerandaloser,you’resettingsomeoneupforfailure.Rather,O’Hararecommendsthatyou“framethenegotiationsasaproblem-solvingchallenge.”Insteadoflookingforwaystobeattheotherside,thinkaboutcreativewaystomakeawin-win. 2.Bepolite: Makesmalltalk.Spendingafewminuteschattingaboutsomethingelsemighthelpyougathersomeimportantinsightsaboutthepeopleyouarenegotiatingwith.Seeingthemaspeopleratherthanopponentscanhelpyoubuildtrustandunderstandtheirmotives.Smalltalkwill“buildconnectionsyoucanleveragelateron.” 3.Focusonwhatyouhaveincommon.InCrucialConversations,theycallthis“inventingamutualpurpose.”Evenifyouultimatelyhavedifferentgoalsinthenegotiation,findsomecommongroundandfocusonareaswhereyoudoagree.Rememberthewin-win,creativesolutionyouareworkingon. O’Hararecommendsusing“wordslike‘we’tosignalyouareinvestedintherelationship.” 4.Don’tbeafraidtopushbackrespectfully.AsO’Harasays,don’t“reflexivelycaveonissuesbecauseyouthinkit’llwinyoufavor.”Inreality,you’vejustshowntheothersidethatyouarewillingtogiveintoavoidconfrontation,whichmighttemporarilysavetherelationshipbutdoesn’tcreatetrustorrespectinthelong-term.Youcanbeprofessionalandnon-combativeandholdyourground. 5.Findoutwhy.Asktheothersidewhattheyarehopingtogetoutofthenegotiations,andgoastepfurthertoaskwhythat’swhattheywant.Understandingwhytheywantsomethingwillhelpyouinyourcreativeproblem-solving.Youmightbeabletosatisfythewhywitha“what”thatalsogivesyouwhatyouwant. 6.Seetheissuefromallsides.AsO’Harasays,“don’tmistakeimpactforintent.”Considerthattheothersidelikelyisfacingpressurethatlimitstheirabilitytobeflexibleinthenegotiations.Iftheothersideisn’tbending,itmaynotbeacharacterflaw,itcouldbethattheirbudgethasbeencutorthey’refacingsupply-chainissues.O’Hararecommendspreparingforthenegotiationbydoingsomeresearchthatmighthelpyouunderstandwheretheothersideiscomingfromandthechallengestheymayhavetoworkaround. Nexttimeyouarefacinganimportantbusinessnegotiation,Ihopethesetipscanhelpyoumaintaintherelationshipandstillgetwhatyouneed. PhotoCredit:iStockbyGettyImages   JessicaWishart ConnectWithUs: BlogTopics AccountableLeaders&Teams Annual&QuarterlyPlanning Books EffectiveMeetings GotheSecondMile goalplanning IncreasingSales KPIs&Dashboards Mergers&Acquisitions StrategiesforGrowth StrategyExecution Videos Webinars WhitePapers Whitepapers SeewhytopCEOstrustRhythmtoaligntheirteams Readytospeakwithamid-marketexpert?Findouthowwehelphighgrowthcompaniesexecutetheirgrowthstrategiesandwin! TakeaProductTour Getexclusiveresources,beforeeveryoneelse. Bookyourpersonalizeddemo OrPickaDateNow 704-209-7290 [email protected]