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Importance of Influence & Negotiation in Business |
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"The
art of getting what you want, even when you don't have direct control over
the person who will give it to you"
Preparing to negotiate
So, let's start with the most obvious aspect of a
negotiation - you negotiate in order to get something. What makes it a
negotiation instead of a demand or request? The belief that you have to
give something back in return. Let's explore this interesting aspect of
negotiation first; that you don't always have to give something back. Or,
at least you might not always be aware of what the other person is getting
in return.
Think back to when you were a child. You constantly
made demands on your parents - for their time, their attention, their
money and for all the things they gave you. Was this a negotiation? Or was
it an unfair trade? Of course, your parents got something in return and,
as a child, you instinctively knew that you could ask for the moon on a
stick and your parents would still get more out of the deal. At least, you
acted if that were true, and herein lies the first secret of negotiation
and influence:
"Act as if you fully expect to get more than
you are asking for"
Of course, this presupposes that you know both what you
want and what you are prepared to settle for. In all kinds of
transactions, people have two expectations; what they would like and what
they would settle for. What I see, time and time again, is that people end
up getting what they would settle for. There's an important lesson in
that.
* What do I want?
* What is the minimum I will settle for?
* What would I get in my wildest dreams?
* What is a realistic expectation? Planning your strategy
In order to execute any plan you need a strategy. In other
words, after you have decided what you want, the next step is to do
something. The question is - what?
Planning a strategy is not the same as doing something.
Ultimately, people can only give you what you want if they know you want
it. Therefore, the next secret of negotiation and influence is:
The easiest way to get what you want is to ask for what
you want
And do it in the most direct way possible. Other
people cannot be relied upon to understand hints and gentle nudges, or
roundabout requests, or tact, or any of the other ways that we make
ourselves feel less self conscious about expressing our needs. If you do
not habitually tell people what you want then you have no right to get it!
So, taking your original goal:
* How will I know when I have achieved this?
* What will happen when I get this?
* What will happen if I don't get this?
* What won't happen if I do get this?
* What won't happen if I don't get this? Understanding needs and outcomes
Possibly the most important skill for helping other people get what
they want is to be able to understand their
needs, even when they aren't very good
at expressing them. Think of a time when you've had
really good service in a shop or restaurant and I bet it has
something to do with the other person
predicting your needs or exceeding your
expectations.
It's easy to imagine that you are exceeding your
customers' expectations by giving them more than they
have asked for, but beware of giving
them 'more' according to your criteria than
to theirs. For example, in choosing a removal company to help me
move house, price is not my main
selection criteria once it falls into
a broadly competitive range. My main criteria are
reliability and care - I want the removal company to turn up on
time, move me efficiently and not
break anything. In order to get this,
I will pay more than the lowest
price as long as the price is
"in the ball park" i.e. in
the range limited by the supplier's competitors or market.
If a removal company tries to win my business by offering
a discount, I will probably rule them out. If a company gave me a
list of previous customers I could speak to, I would probably
be more impressed, but I probably
wouldn't call anyone. If the person
who comes to provide the estimate gives an air of confidence and
capability, I will probably choose that company.
Therefore, in exceeding your
customers' expectations, it's vital to know
what their criteria are, and how they are different to your
own.
In negotiations, everyone wants something in order to get
something else - people want cars to go places, they want furniture to sit
on and they want money to buy things. The objects of the negotiation are
not an end in themselves; they are a means to an end. A very
useful step in the negotiation is for
you to find out what ends are served by the negotiation. This will
make you more flexible and more effective.
* What is your partner/opponent asking for?
* What will have that do for them?
* What else can you offer that achieves the same
result - or better? The only time I've ever seen
customers really unhappy is when they
were given what they asked for instead
of what they wanted. Therefore, always find out
what people really want instead of simply giving them what they ask for.
The most important characteristic of Negotiation is that it is aimed at
a win-win outcome. The objective is to attain mutual gain. This approach
is based on the assumption that there exist one or more solutions to a
problem that could result in a win-win situation.
This partnership, integrative approach to negotiation
helps to develop long-term relationships between the negotiating parties,
and eliminates differences between them so as to ensure cooperation of the
other party in the future as well.
These few things are important for negotiating to be
successful: parties should be sensitive to each other needs; they should
be honest about their concerns and should trust each other; & they
should be willing to be flexible. |
