Negotiations play a huge role in business transactions, from closing deals with buyers to winning new supply tenders or securing favorable payment terms.
So, to unlock the doors to success in your business, it’s important to understand the ins and outs of negotiating.
Today we’ll go over some typically overlooked strategies that can help you ace your business negotiations.
Detaching emotions and personalities from issues
Failure to separate people from issues usually causes relationships and different personalities to become entangled in the talks at hand. These personality differences often result in misunderstandings, conflicts, and clashes, making it harder to see a zone of possible agreement.
Note: According to negotiations.com, the zone of possible agreement or “contracting zone” is the point where both sides of a negotiation can find an overlapping walk-away position. There is an overlap of interests at this point so everyone can walk out with an outcome that is more acceptable to them.
How can you overcome the emotional aspects of negotiations?
- Remember that the other person is human too subject to biases and shortcomings with emotions and entrenched values based on different backgrounds and viewpoints. So, practice a high level of emotional and cultural intelligence as well as empathy to avoid unnecessary discord.
- Separate the people from the issues. Avoid making personal attacks. It helps to set ground rules from the onset that you can all reference if how the talks are running becomes too personal.
- Think about the relationship. By keeping the long-term agenda in mind, you can avoid creating tensions that may cause a rift and affect your long-term working relationship.
- Avoid emotional outbursts. Staying cool throughout the discussions can help improve how you communicate with the other people. Eruptions usually only cause the other side to respond defensively, slowing the talks down.
It’s also essential to bite your tongue and avoid reacting to outbursts. Instead, suggest a time-out and give everyone involved a chance to cool down before proceeding.
- Prepare psychologically. Before you begin the discussions, take time to get into the right frame of mind. For instance, anticipate “people-related” problems and take an emotional intelligence course.
Thorough research is important. Before getting into any business dealings, it’s critical to conduct thorough research and come fully prepared. Come to the negotiating table with as much information as you can about the company, the industry, and the people you are negotiating with.
Some important areas to research include:
- The main industry-related terminology that you’re likely to come across, so you don’t get confused or intimidated by jargon. While there is room to seek clarification, it helps to know more to avoid giving away too much due to misunderstandings.
- The company’s main business, products or services, and competitors. By learning more about the other side’s business, you can get a better sense of how they operate and their strengths and weaknesses.
Once you know more about them, you can gauge which areas they would hold fast to and where they may be more willing to concede so you can prepare alternative proposals.
In addition, having all the facts at hand helps you understand your position better. You can clearly articulate what you bring to the table and why the other side should choose to do business with you.
Listening is an integral part of communication
Without effective communication, there can be no success in negotiations. While it’s important to convey your messages effectively, it’s more important to master how to listen. Listening is often a problem for many, especially if they know a lot about the topic at hand. However, it’s important to suppress the urge to talk and instead focus on listening.
When you actively and attentively listen, you can get to the root of what the other person values the most to determine an appropriate trade-off. It helps to skillfully ask open-ended questions that can probe the other person to open up about their interests so you can learn more without revealing too much yourself.
Becoming a stronger negotiator
By mastering the often-forgotten parts of negotiating, such as listening, research, and emotional aptitude, you can improve the way you handle negotiations.
Remember, you may not get it right immediately. Still, by practicing these strategies, you can become an effective and strong force to reckon with when it comes to negotiations and improving your business.
