Melanie Lindner and Lisa LaMotta, 11.21.08
You won’t win them all, but you can increase the odds. Here’s how.
Life is one big negotiation–be it with your boss, spouse, customers or the used-car salesman.
Formidable deal makers like Warren Buffett, Bill Clinton and sports agent Scott Boras tend to be born, not made. But talk to negotiating pros from the worlds of government, finance and media, and they’ll admit there is at least some science to this art–and there’s no better time to master it than in a severe economic downtown.
Knowing, for instance, how to negotiate easier terms with suppliers can be the difference between conquest and carnage. “Vendors will be more lenient when it comes to negotiating financing options if they can lock you into a long-term contract,” notes Gregg Bedol, business consultant with Red Zone Consulting in Atlanta. In this environment, Bedol recommends angling for friendlier financing on high-volume items like paper, ink and toner.
Winning every point in a negotiation is rarely an option, of course, but if you keep a few principles in mind, you can tilt things in your favor–whether you’re signing a peace treaty or re-jiggering contracts.
If you remember one thing about negotiating, it should be this: It’s not the maneuvering once you’re in the trenches, but rather the preparation before sitting down at the table that counts.
“Before you even begin the actual negotiation, you need to do your homework,” says Ontario-based negotiating coach and business consultant Michael Sloopka. “Research all the facts on both sides…
Remember, too, that most people aren’t very good listeners. If you want your opponent to concede something, let them feel like they’re being heard.
“I use the 70-30 rule: listen 70% of the time and talk only 30%,” says Brodow. The best way to encourage that, he adds, is by asking open-ended questions that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no, such as, “What is most important to you in this agreement?”
Having a handle on your own strengths and weaknesses is also critical. For example, one-off transactions favor competitive types who see the negotiation as a game they must win. (Think Donald Trump.) If you are naturally more at ease with building consensus and nurturing long-term relationships, let someone else take the lead.
Before you start haggling, establish what negotiating textbooks lovingly call the ZOPA, or zone of possible agreement. There’s usually a large area of overlapping agreement, and it’s nice…
