Negotiating Skills That Really Work

If you want to really make it in the business world then there is one skill set that is a must for you – good negotiating skills. All the world’s top business people, politicians, actors in fact all successful people have one thing in common – they have great negotiating skills.

Not blowing my own trumpet here, but I have been successful in many business situations which has landed me contracts all over the world. I truly believe that my negotiating skills have been the significant factor in enabling me to achieve this. Was I born with these skills? Of course - duh

No, in fact when I was younger and hungry to be a business success, I had a fear of using negotiating skills with other people. Now, nothing fazes me. So how did I make this transition?

Before I tell you think about this – no matter which path you choose in life you will need to use negotiating skills to get things that you want from your life. In business, good negotiating skills are essential to win contracts, motivate personnel, getting a pay rise or promotion etc. In your personal life you will need good negotiating skills to deal with your spouse, your kids and your friends and other family members. In fact just about any interaction that you have with other people can call upon your negotiation skills – to get something or even to get out of a situation.

OK here goes with my famous Three Golden Rules of Negotiating Skills…………………..

Golden Rules of Negotiating Skills 1

Know your outcome.

What do you want from the transaction? You have to start from a position of knowing exactly what you want and what you are prepared to give to get to that point. Those with top negotiating skills know their outcomes before they even begin to negotiate and you need to do this too.

Golden Rules of Negotiating Skills 2

Know your stuff.

If you are in business selling a product or service then know all there is to know about the market and the products that you are offering. The key thing here is benefits – how will your product really benefit your potential customers? You can never have enough benefits! In most negotiations you will have to use your skills to overcome rejections from the potential buyer. The best negotiators are masters of this.

Golden Rules of Negotiating Skills 3

Create a Win – Win situation.

This is a simple rule but sometimes difficult to achieve. You must achieve it though. When people enter any kind of negotiation both parties are trying to win. Whether it is true or not you always want to make sure that the other party in your negotiation leaves the party happy and believing that they have won (or obtained) something of value. Here’s a simple example – if you buy two you get one free. Or by offering large discounts for placing the order now. Or telling your boss that for the pay rise you are requesting you will deliver X Y and Z.

If you follow these three golden rules of negotiating skills you will get amazing results. I have stuck by these rules for many years and they always deliver the goods

One last important point before I close – and that is to remain confident in all of your dealings with people. I have found myself in situations where I wasn’t as clued up as I should have been. But by being confident and creating a win-win situation I was able to achieve my outcome.

Show no fear people and apply these negotiating skills rules to win the day

See you soon

Posted on June 10th, 2008 by Sledge
Filed under: Success