This is a specialised skill and like all skills negotiating can be learned and mastered with sufficient effort and practice, yet many business owners and senior managers do not devote sufficient attention to this very important skill.
In reality, negotiation is an integral part of life and business and some everyday examples are:
• Your kids/grandkids “negotiating” about where you will take them on the weekend (although often they may cause you to “melt” with their “eyes” and how they lovingly ask, “Pleeaase……..- just this once” !
• Your spouse discussing the location and inclusions of this years family holiday
• Negotiating the final price of your new property acquisition
• Negotiating the price for the new additions to your wardrobe (that new suit or new frock)
• Negotiating “ a better deal” (whatever that means) with your suppliers.
Notice that of the examples I have listed above – many people clearly see negotiating the final price of the new property acquisition or getting a better deal from your suppliers as typical areas of negotiation. The other examples are often not seen in this light.
I would like to encourage you to approach life with an air of adventure and your highly developed negotiation skills can add to that sense of adventure, fun and importantly optimise the running of your business.
Myths about negotiating
(Source: Life & business experience as well as “How to Get the Best Deal Every Time Without Rubbing People the Wrong Way!” by Wayne Berry)
Myth 1: Negotiating is only concerned with price.
This is false and is often indicative of poor quality negotiations and an inability to see the “whole picture” and think multi-dimensionally”.
Myth 2: I have to be a “hard nosed” tough guy/girl to win at negotiating
In my experience this type of approach rarely results in an optimal outcome. People with this underlying belief see negotiating as a “win/lose” paradigm. That is for one party to win, the other must lose. It is based on a mentality of “scarcity” and a belief that the “pie” being negotiated over is a fixed size.
Myth 3: I have to leave behind my ethics and integrity to be a good negotiator
Quite the reverse. To successfully negotiate a sustainable outcome that all parties will be happy with, you must approach it with integrity and ethics – otherwise the rot will have set in even before the ink is dry on the Agreement.
Myth 4: Knowing how to negotiate well is only important/relevant to business people.
Incorrect. This is a valuable skill that will enhance the quality and sense of adventure in your life.
Myth 5: You have to have the upper hand to win a negotiation.
This is all about the source and appropriate use of “power”. Misused “power” or authority often causes negotiations to stall. You only have to think about the industrial relations arena to see that. (I won’t unpack that any further – you can fill in your own “story” here.)
Myth 6: Negotiating is just a lot of commonsense anyway
Well yes and no!.....You see the better/best negotiators do not respond or react in negotiating situations like the average person does. In fact the best negotiators often respond in a “counter-intuitive” manner.
(More on this as the article series unfolds)
Score Yourself
How many Negotiating Myths are you or someone you know “guilty” of falling for?
The good news is you can make a positive decision today to start learning and applying all you can about negotiating so that your life and business relationships and results can be enriched.
Next Week:
This series of articles will continue next week. Stay tuned for more important information on the “Art of Negotiating”
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