Negotiation is uncomfortable, it
put us under pressure, and it is something most of us want to get over and done
with as soon as possible. A negotiator who is not trained well is not able to
think clearly under pressure and might make mistakes such as talking too much and sharing information that should have not been shared.
Here are the 5 most common
negotiation mistakes that people make; it is important to be aware of these and
think of strategies overcome these mistakes and become a better negotiator.
1
Being unprepared
We are all time poor and rush to
get things done. It is therefore even more important to set priorities and make
time to prepare. When preparing you uncover important information and gain
control and power. It is vital to understand what is important to the other
party, how they will approach the negotiation and how they might react to your
demands and proposals. It is important to also understand how much they need
you. Do they have many alternatives and how will this impact the negotiation? Analyze your position; how much do you need
them and what are your alternatives.
Without thorough preparation you
lack control and power and you inadvertently hand the control and power over
you to the other party. The biggest reason why negotiations fail or why
one-party leaves too much money on the table is due to lack of preparation.
2
Looking at the negotiation as a competition
A negotiation is not a
competition; a good negotiator knows that and does not portray any ego in the
negotiation. Using a negotiation like a competition can ruin the negotiators
reputation and the negotiation can lead to a dead lock. I like to call this
type of negotiator an ‘egotiator’.
Spotting an
egotiator is easy as the person likes to show off, wants to be right all the
time and knows everything. With such an approach the egotiator is likely to
give away too much information and will agree to deals in the spur of a moment.
While ego does put people off, it allows the
other party to control and manipulate the egotiator.
Egotiators
have pride and if the other party says something that hurts their pride then
the egotiator can get off course and get emotional. Pride is destructive to the
negotiation. Pride is the fear of losing superiority and fearing loss of
superiority makes the egotiator wing their way through the negotiation making
costly mistakes.
If you
come across an egotiator make sure you use that to your advantage. Make them
feel superior, let them talk and ask them questions. They love to hear their
own voice and love to look as if they know everything. All you do is use that
information to your advantage make them feel valued and you focus on getting
the best deal for yourself.
A good negotiator has no ego; therefore, leave your ego
outside the negotiation room
3
Rushing
the negotiation
Negotiation is uncomfortable, it
put us under pressure, and it is something most of us want to get over and done
with as soon as possible. Due to our dislike of negotiating we seem to rush
through the process. This is a mistake because when the process is rushed, we
miss out on vital information. There is the tendency not to ask enough
questions that go deep into the issues. There is also the tendency to force an
outcome in the first conversation.
Never rush as it makes it look
like you only care about the outcome and you want it fast. This can put the
other party off and it could lead to a no deal.
Slow things down, ask questions,
understand their position and don’t feel the need to make the deal in the first
conversation.
4
Being too nice
Negotiation is uncomfortable and
often people tend to fall into the trap of being too nice to overcompensate.
There is no need to be too nice,
but you need to give concessions. However never give anything without getting
anything of equal or more value in return. Move away from discounting on price,
create value elsewhere. This comes back to preparation; you need to understand
what is important to the other party. In most cases what is important to them might
not be important to you which means that you can give something that does not
cost you a lot but might be of high value to the other party.
5
Being overwhelmed by emotions
Strong emotions can keep us from
making rational decisions which can lead to mistakes. If we are desperate for
the deal and forget about our alternatives, then we might give too much away.
If anger gets in the way, we might upset the other party and halt the
negotiation. When a negotiation gets heated and emotions take over, take a break,
ask for a time out. It is important to be in charge of your emotions, if they
do take over make sure you recognize this and act appropriately.
#negotiationskills #negotiation #negotiationmistakes
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