1 Easy Negotiation Skills Method That Will Instantaneously Produce Better Negotiation Results


There is one easy negotiation skills technique that can be utilized by anyone to immediately and positively impact their negotiation outcomes. This method is to always (yes always) overstate your expectations at the negotiation table.

Henry Kissinger, the famous American Secretary of State said: Effectiveness at the conference table depends upon overstating one's demands, a well known quote referred to in both negotiation training and sales training courses. There are several grounds why it is important for you to begin with high aspirations when you participate in negotiations:

1. Research has confirmed that high aspirations will regularly do better than low aspirations. It could be said that if you want to hit the moon, you should aim for the stars. You will be astonished by the effectiveness of something so elementary. Many of my customers are very happy when they realise that they can realise more from their negotiations by simply asking for more!

2. Having high aspirations will permit you to 'anchor' the negotiation around your goals. It is much better 'anchoring' negotiations around your aspirational level rather than your minimum acceptable level. Having high aspirations convey confidence and serves to underline the quality of your proposals.

3. Perhaps most importantly, having high goals will present you with the opportunity to be flexible in your negotiations. Research tells us that most people equate their success at the negotiation table with their ability to achieve allowances from their counterparty. The reality is that the other side will have no motivation to be flexible or to make concessions to you if you are not willing and able to make concessions to them.

Therefore, if you do not allow yourself some 'room to move' then you risk coming across to the other side as someone who is uncompromising and unprepared to make concessions. Please note that I am NOT suggesting that you open your negotiations with extreme and unrealistic demands. Your opening offer should reflect a level that is realistic and that you are able to rationalise using a solid, factual argument. It can be high risk using unrealistic requirements and offers as your counterpart may well decide not to negotiate with you at all.

I once worked with a large multi-national organisation who used an approach of 'the price we ask for is the only price we sell at'. As they are a well recognised and old company in the USA, they have become known as the type of business that has a conservative approach to business and have learned to live with this approach. However, when using this approach in Poland, the company realised that they were being perceived as being inflexible by their counterparts because they would never budge on their prices.

In Polish business culture this method was not acceptable and they found it exceedingly difficult to finalise transactions in the Polish market place. The simple remedy was for them to ask for a little more than their standard prices so that they could allow clients the opportunity to negotiate with them and to gain some concessions from them. This approach proved to be very successful for them.

Of course, bear in mind that 9 out of 10 times your counterparty's first offer will be an aspirational goal, not their minimum anticipated results. This means that you should never agree to any first offer that is made - you should always negotiate!

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