We all know the negation is part of everyday life. We get to
negotiate when we ask for a raise. We get the opportunity when we are being
hired. How about every day negotiating where to get gas, or coffee or even
lunch. I even negotiate with my wife. Well honey if I cook, will you wash
dishes? Negotiating is something we do every day. The key is to make sure every
negotiation is humble.
As I mentioned we started negotiating at a very young age,
we might not realize that we were negotiating but we were definitely going
it. I’ll eat my greens if I can have a
piece of candy after dinner. Alternatively, my personal favorite was mom I’ll
feed the cat if you clean out their litter box. (I did not win that one very
often, but when I did, boy was it sweet.)
We have all seen the child throwing a fit in public attempting to get
their way. Do they win? Not very often,
in our house that never worked. Shoot one time I walked away from the child for a minute then
come back and look directly at them and said, “who are your parents?” the kid
looked back up at me and started laughing. Me on the other hand, I was not
impressed. There were also times where
one of my children would come up to me and say, “dad I washed all of the
dishes, is there a possibility we could watch a movie, and stay up a little
late?” They were negotiating with humility;
I was much more likely to meet then in the middle when they did this.
How do you handle your negotiations at work? Do you yet
upset when you don’t get your way? What about when you are asking for a raise
or days off? I have even had to negotiate to get my voice heard. Heck there were times that I had to negotiate
with operations to get them to follow federal regulations. Here are a few tips to help your negotiations
stay humble and improve your chances of striking a deal.
1.
Don’t get angry.
Getting angry is a sure fire way to loose every time. It shows that you
don’t have control over your emotions. I’ve heard it said that it shows
passion. NO WAY! It shows weakness, it shows that you cant handle yourself let
alone what you asking for.
2.
Brainstorm different scenarios before you go
into the meeting. Take a few minutes and
think about different possibilities. Think about where the conversation might go
questions that might be asked, statements that might be made.
3.
Look at the deal from their point of view. This
ties directly into number 2 take a few moments and think about what you’re
asking from the other side. Let’s say it’s a raise. If they have had to lay off several employees
in the company there is a good chance that there truly isn’t any funds to
spread out right now. If it is a promotion, maybe there are others that more or
equally qualified for the position. No matter what you are, negotiating through
look at it from their point to see if it’s a good deal, or of the deal is one
sided.
4.
Don’t get in a hurry to get an answer. Negations
take time, rushing one will sure not end in your favor. So many times sales
people use the buy now technique they use your sense of this deal won’t last,
to get you to make an impulse buy. Learn when it’s being done to you and also
NEVER use that technique. You might get
the answer you want today, but it won’t be the answer you need tomorrow.
5.
Be honest.
You have to be honest with yourself as well as the other party. Be
honest as to what you really want. Be honest as to what you are willing to risk
and do in order to make the deal.
6.
Don’t make false statements to get your way. Look
at the liberals that publicly announced that they would leave the country if
Trump were elected to president. They
thought they would convince people across the nation that if they didn’t get
their way then we would never see their face on the movie screen again. I’m
pretty sure that one of them has moved to Canada yet.
7.
Don’t be afraid to re-negotiate. Things change, it’s ok to circle back and
make changes.
8.
Start small. So often, we start too big, asking
for too much thinking that we can go smaller.
Have you ever tried starting small and then asking for a little more until
we have reached the ultimate outcome?
There are many people who are expert negotiators in this big
ole world. I definitely don’t claim to be one of those people. What I can say
is that I learn from everyone. Abraham
was a great and humble negotiator; he is one of the only people to walk this
earth to actually negotiate with God. In
Genesis 18:22-33 Abraham negotiated with God to allow the righteous people to
leave the cities of Sodom and Gomora before he destroyed them. Below I have included
the scripture of his negotiation. I ask
that you read it with the intent to learn better negotiation skills.
Next time you start to negotiate something with anyone, take
a few moments and think about how you like to be treated if you were on the
other end of the negotiation. Also, think
about how you might maneuver the conversation to be heard without becoming
arrogant or angry. There is always a way
to get what you need. Lastly remember
that if you don’t negotiate, you don’t have opportunity to learn, and if the negotiation
fails, there is always next time.
“The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham
remained standing before the Lord. Then
Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the
wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really
sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous
people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the
wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will
not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I
will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak
to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the
righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of
five people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy
it.” Once again, he spoke to him, “What
if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do
it.” Then he said, “May the Lord not be
angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” He answered,
“I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord,
what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I
will not destroy it.” Then he said, “May
the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be
found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” When the Lord had finished speaking with
Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.”
No comments:
Post a Comment