Negotiation is a key skill that will help you in your career and your personal life. Many people don’t understand the fundamental principles of negotiation. Knowing these fundamentals can make your next negotiation much more successful.
1. Determine Your Goals
Understanding what you are trying to achieve is a vital aspect of negotiation. This is resource known as “negotiating your goals.” For example, you should identify the “must-haves” and the “nice-to-haves” in a job offer. This helps you remain focused during negotiations and increases the likelihood that you’ll achieve the best outcome for everyone.
2. Know when to walk away
During a negotiation, it’s essential to be flexible and take into consideration the interests of the other side. If you ask for a raise in salary and the other party doesn’t believe it’s in their best interests to accept your terms the other party may decide to leave the table. Knowing when to leave can give you time to consider different options and prepare for the next negotiation.
3. Avoid Using Threats
Negotiating is often a tangled process that requires a number of steps. However there are certain strategies which should not be used. Threats are a powerful way to deter, and they could make the other person feel as if they’re forced into doing something against their own will. A threat to leave early from a meeting can be seen as an ultimatum, and can cause disruption to the conversation. Furthermore, threats could backfire, causing the other party to become defensive & less likely to listen.