Negotiation is an art form

Almost everybody negotiates something with someone every single day. Negotiation is a part of everyday life. Not all negotiations revolve around a business deal. For example, you might start your day by negotiating with one of your family or a business colleague.

The first step in any sort of deal is to build rapport with the person or people that you want to negotiate with. Building rapport is an art form in itself and can be taught. Did you know that 93% of communication is non-verbal? Some people find it much easier to negotiate with certain types of people than with others. Perhaps you feel threatened or spell-bound by one type or one person in particular. This might reveal a limiting belief that you can overcome through business performance coaching.

The second stage of negotiation is to carry out some careful fact-finding to elicit the key issues behind the deal from the other person's perspective. There are a whole range of techniques available to help you to do this both calmly and efficiently.

The third stage of negotiation is to put your deal on the table by framing your proposition in such a way that acknowledges the important issues raised by those whom you are negotiating with. Itês fine to put your cards on the table first but take into account that most people will try to beat you down from your first declared position.

Assuming you have to negotiate on most deals, be sure to look ahead for areas which are low cost for you to concede and yet would give high value to the other team. Try to avoid surrendering to the other team's demands without negotiation. Use phrases such as 'If you want that' then 'I'll want this'.

Once agreement has been made make sure that you confirm what has been agreed. There is nothing worse than starting to negotiate all over again at some later date just because the deal was not fully understood and signed by both parties.

At O" we firmly believe that good negotiation skills are essential if you want to be successful in business. These can be taught as part of our Business Performance Coaching Programme.

If you, or members of your team, would like to learn more about the art form of negotiation please call Robin Johnson on 0845 260 7700 (local rate).