Negotiation Skills in 7 simple steps

Knowing when to negotiate

While developing your negotiation skills is invaluable, it’s just as important to know when it’s appropriate to negotiate and when it’s not a good idea. Recognizing when negotiation isn’t an option will save you time, effort, and credibility.

Do both (or more) parties have something to gain?

To negotiate, you and your opposite number must have some common ground to work from, and both must have something to gain.

Do you want to stick around?

Do you want to have a future relationship with the other party? If so, negotiation is the best option, because if you don’t share your needs, one or both of you will walk away.

Do you and the other party (or parties) have time?

If time is short, and you can’t postpone negotiation, you’ll be unable to prepare effectively enough to achieve much. You wouldn’t choose a holiday in 90 seconds, so it’s unlikely you’ll successfully negotiate better pay on finding yourself in the lift with your boss.

If you open negotiations while the other party is under pressure at work or home, you risk an abrupt response because they need to keep proceedings short.

First steps

Perhaps the most pivotal aspect of negotiation beyond all others is preparation. By preparing for every negotiation on an individual basis, you’ll boost your chances of reaching a satisfactory resolution, starting here:

Set a primary ‘gut feeling’ objective

Before you even start to research the market or set of circumstances in which you’re negotiating, write down what you would want to achieve in an ideal-world scenario. This will focus your research efforts and provide clarity for the road ahead. Look back at this objective any time that you feel your negotiation proceedings are getting lost in detail.

Make time to gather knowledge

Only by preparing properly will you be able to gather enough information about your opposite number, and the issue under discussion, to give your negotiations authority and credibility. In the next few pages we’ll look at preparatory research in depth.

Never assume what worked before will work again

If you’ve negotiated before, and with success, it’s forgivable to assume that you’ll do the same again by applying the same tactics. But, every negotiation is unique – even one new face or a different deadline in the mix can hugely alter the objectives.

Know what you want

Once you’ve identified your ideal objective, which can be as simple as ‘get myself a pay rise’, you should examine what it is you really want – in detail. Here are a few examples to get you started:

What do I/we want to get as a result of the negotiations?

What would the perfect deal be?

What would an acceptable deal be?

When do I/we want or need negotiations to start and finish?

What are my/our financial limits/aspirations?

How important is the ongoing relationship with the other party?

How long can I/we wait for delivery of the agreed item/terms?

Asking yourself or your team these questions will help you identify acceptable alternatives to the ‘perfect deal’, or note some aspects that you’d be willing to trade off. What is key in identifying what you want is not establishing a determined, immovable ‘position’, but what your specific interests really are. Knowing what these interests are will provide you with much more material to negotiate with than creating a fixed stance over which the only choice is to haggle aggressively. Noting these interests is also the first step in creating your negotiation strategy.

Know what you can give

After identifying what your specific interests are, ask yourself and/or your team some open questions to reveal just how little or how much you’re prepared to bargain. Everyone must agree on these terms wholeheartedly, and stick to them. Here are just a few examples of the type of questions you may ask:

Could I/we wait for a better sale price/a bigger payrise in the longer term?

Could I accept home working in place of a car allowance?

Could I accept more annual leave instead of a bonus this year?

But how can ‘giving in’ suit both parties? Surely you’re losing out? Not necessarily, because the analysis process can reveal some unexpected interests you didn’t know you had. You may, for example, realize that an immediate bonus rather than a later pay rise would suit you because you’re getting married and don’t want to take out a loan for the wedding. You’re happy: your employer is delighted. Analysing what you really want and what you’re willing to give are the first foundations of your negotiation strategy, and will provide you with materials that can be discussed and traded off to reach a resolution that potentially benefits both (or more) parties.

Know your USP

One part of your preparatory jigsaw still needs to be slotted into place. This is your USP, your ‘unique selling proposition’; the hook that will keep your opposite number interested in you and in reaching a good resolution, no matter how long the negotiation.

What is a USP?

The unique selling proposition is a marketing term which describes the qualities that only you can provide, or provide best, compared to all other competitors. The USP concept doesn’t just apply to negotiations related to buying and selling; ever-increasingly you’ll need to emphasize your USP in job interviews, and in negotiations for pay or promotion.

Recognize your USP

Whether negotiating as a team or one to one, you’ll have to know your USP. What can you offer that no one else can? What is it that makes you unique and sought after? Crucially, it must be an attribute that’s important to the other party, or your USP will be irrelevant. To identify your USP fully, you must consider it in terms of what your opposite party needs. When the time comes to research them, think carefully about what it is you could offer to respond uniquely to their requirements.

Get ready to sell your USP

Having a convincing selling proposition will help you counter most, if not all, challenges. For example, a proven ability to provide support across a number of office roles or, for suppliers, award-winning customer service will help counter statements such as ‘Liz has been here longer than you and isn’t asking for a raise’ or ‘we know another supplier who can undercut your costs’. When a USP offers an intangible but compelling concept of added value, it’s difficult for your opposite number to dismiss it, even against tangible factors such as price.

When you’ve determined your USP, it’s important that you’re comfortable talking about it, even before you begin negotiations. Take a little time to craft your USP into a short statement of no more than 20 clear, credible words. If you’re going into team negotiations, make sure every team member is comfortable with it, understands it, (believes it!) and can justify it if asked.

Know your opposite number

No matter what the circumstance, whether a neighbourhood campaign against a new road or negotiating for better working conditions in a factory, research will help you shape your negotiation strategy and help you make an educated guess about what the other party’s strategy will be too.

Gather all possible information

Ask the other party who they plan to field: Providing your opposite number knows you’re about to enter into negotiations with them, they should expect to be asked for such information. Ask who will be present, what their job titles are, and brief background information about them. Ask who’ll be leading, what roles the others will fulfil, and offer the same in return.

Search LinkedIn

and other social media: Now you’ve got names, explore their career profiles on LinkedIn

to discover their special interests and skills. Finding their profile page on Facebook or Twitter may uncover nuggets about likes and dislikes, hobbies and aspirations. This could give you common ground from which to build a relationship, or provide a talking point to ease a tense coffee break. And simply knowing what the other team looks like will help you fit names to faces quickly on the day, making you appear confident and attentive.

Check their company website: If you’re negotiating with representatives of a company, you should check the company website for information such as claimed service standards and company ethos. Being able to point out a mismatch between what they say during negotiations and what they claim on their site may give you some leverage.