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The most common negotiation mistakes people make and how to avoid them



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
www.octalonegotiation.com


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