friends
Effective negotiation means building, not burning, bridges. A definition of a good deal is when no one leaves the negotiations either feeling ripped-off or regretful in any way. Both parties need to feel like they could go through it again.
Building relationships with people gives you and your business security. You may even find more business by getting to know your customers and suppliers better. And by building on your relationships with suppliers you will get to know more about all aspects of your business and the chains that feed into it: this could help you run things more efficiently or spot the next big opportunity in your niche.
QUICK TIP: Make sure you send Christmas cards (or e-cards) to as many people in your supplier’s company as possible, including receptionists.
Gain respect
Learning to negotiate effectively is an opportunity to put some structure into your dealings if you have employees, or establish some steps for you to follow each time if you are a sole trader.
Here are some examples:
decide how you will communicate (by phone, email or in person)
draw up forms for your proposals and deal memos
mark opportunities to send thank-you cards and gifts
decide whether to be formal or relaxed in the way you communicate.
You can also define a company image – not in the design sense, but in the way you want to come across, and in your style and manner of dealing with other people.
3. Just Before We Get Going . . .
Some Golden Rules
AT THE CORE of negotiation is learning how to communicate well and find out what the other person wants to get out of the deal. If they are not familiar with negotiation they may not realise that it is always possible to work together to find a deal that everyone is happy with. (It just takes a lot of tact and perseverance sometimes!)
1. Listen
You need to be a good listener. Give the other person time to talk and don’t be scared of leaving gaps in the conversation. Sometimes people fill the gaps with conversation and give things away about themselves or their company that are useful to know.
The aim of listening well is to find out what is important for the other person. For example, you need to know if it would benefit them to have a payment in the following tax year, or if they do or don’t have cash flow problems. If you can find out how easily they deliver, if they pay other people for delivery or deliver themselves – all these types of things add to your knowledge base, and allow you to propose terms that make things more tempting for them.
2. Communicate clearly
It is important to remember what you have said during your conversations, to keep a note of this and not to change your mind at a later stage. Always be sure that you are comfortable with what you are offering. Repeating it is fine. But you can’t keep changing your mind.
When you are communicating there are some particular words that are helpful to use (and avoid) which I will cover later in the book.
3. Ask questions
Do ask questions! You will have realised by now that it is very beneficial to find out as much as possible about the company and people you are dealing with.
It is useful to couch some financial questions around easier, friendlier ones first. Always write down what you would like to find out before you pick up the phone, or make a visit.
For example, if you would like to find out if a company is relatively stable:
start off by telling them a bit about your circumstances, in a friendly way; try to engage the person on the phone
ask them what their company is like, how long they have been around
ask them if they have been working there for a long time
ask them where they are based
ask whether you can go and see them.
Share some information about yourself as you go along. When you are further into discussions, ask why they have offered you a certain price, or why they are not interested in giving a discount if you take some of the delivery later in the year (for example). You can learn so much and get some ideas of your own.
Building a long-term relationship with your client or supplier is really important, so be friendly with your questions. If possible, go and see them and have a chat over coffee. Share your own experiences with them.
4. Become a negotiator
Never say yes to something straight away. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first one is that it’s always useful to go away and think about an offer. You may have forgotten something. The second reason is that both of you want to feel that you have got a good deal – if you bite someone’s arm off at their offer they will immediately suspect that they should have charged more.
Never give something away for nothing. In other words, don’t agree to a higher price or don’t agree to accept something (e.g. an additional amount) in order to get the deal closed quickly. Always ask for something in return.
QUICK TIP: If you would like to accept something, remember to use the word ‘if’. ‘If I pay you 50% up front, what can you do for me?’ or ‘If I accept that price, what can you do to help me with deliveries?’
5. Build relationships
Developing a lasting business relationship is a key goal of negotiating. When you have some strong partners in business, your life will be much easier. Always bear in mind that if you construct a deal that both parties are happy with this is a good building block for future deals, and you are likely to do more work together in the future.
If the deal you are doing is definitely a one-off opportunity and there is no chance you will work with the company again, these rules don’t apply, and you should go for the highest price you can! (This is not really negotiating.)
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