Negotiating is a part of living; we
do it all the time.
When you walk down a crowded street
you negotiate the path you take.
A couple negotiates their
relationship before and during marriage.
Although you may not realize what’s
happening, for example you take out the garbage tonight and I will do the
dishes.
Nowhere do we seem to need good
negotiating skills more than at work where we negotiate with staff, clients and
suppliers.
And of course of the negotiation is
one of the skills developed by all
savvy property investors.
Over the years we noticed that some
people are very good at getting terrific deals. Most others simply get
what the other party is willing to give. What’s the difference?
The first group knows how to
negotiate.
Where
do people learn to negotiate successfully?
There seems to be no school of
negotiating.
Those who are successful at
negotiation become so by doing many deals, in other words they learn from their
experiences, but some just have a natural talent for it.
Over the years I have discovered a
number of rules regarding negotiation.
If you understand these rules, this
will help you become a Power Negotiator.
Rule
No 1 – Everything is negotiable
This does not mean you are always
going to get what you want or win every negotiation, but you must remember that
everything is potentially up for negotiation.
Rule
No 2 – Know what you want before negotiating
Always know the result you want –
your bottom line – before commencing negotiations.
It’s a bit like when you’re planning
your holiday.
Firstly decide your destination – where
you want to end up, then work backwards to decide the best way to get there.
In negotiations and in life, if you
don’t have a plan of your own, you’ll be part of someone else’s.
Rule
No 3 – Aim for a Win/Win negotiation
Win/win is created when we help
another person to get what they want while we get what we want so that both
parties feel they have won.
To achieve this:
- Never offend the other party
- Try and build a rapport with the other party during the initial stages of the negotiations. This will help you satisfy their needs by understanding what they really want, as explained in the next point.
- When negotiating, try to look beyond the requests and demands of the other party and attempt to understand their real intentions and motives. Seek to meet this dominant, often hidden, need and you are well on the way to winning the negotiation.
- Don’t assume that the items on your agenda are the same as those on the other person’s agenda. There may be one or two similar items on your lists, but the order may be different.
The secret is to try and establish
what is on their agenda and in what order, in other words what is most
important for them.
You can sometimes do this before the
negotiations formally begin by observation and by asking questions and then
listening carefully.
Although you are trying to create a
win/win, don’t seek total approval from the other party.
Don’t fear rejection or be afraid to
be seen as unreasonable, otherwise you will give in to things you want and
that’s not really a win/win.
Rule
No. 4. – Treat Negotiating as a Game
When it comes to negotiations, you
need to be involved but not too much.
If you are too emotionally involved,
you will lose your perspective and make emotional rather than subjective
decisions.
Like all games, you must understand
the rules.
A skilled negotiator understands the
structure and stages of negotiation.
If you play a game and don’t know
the rules, how do you know when the game has begun, reached its mid-point, or
neared its conclusion?
Rule
No 5 – Never believe anyone else is entirely on your side
Trust yourself; you have your own
interests entirely at heart.
As a buyer, would you go up to a
seller, show your bank account, explain how desperate you are to buy the
property, then ask the seller to tell you what you should offer?
If you are a seller, would you tell
a potential buyer your absolute bottom line?
No sane person would do such things,
yet every day buyers allow others to make decisions for them.
These others could be an accountant,
a relative, a friend or even a real estate agent.
Yes, you certainly want to ask
others advice, but my point is that while these people may not consciously
deceive or purposely lead you astray; everybody’s interest is different, each
has their own goals and yours are always going to be different and sometimes
conflict with mine.
Rule
No 6 – Strive to be innocent
To Power Negotiators, smart is dumb
and dumb is smart.
When you are negotiating, you’re
better off acting as if you know less than everybody else does, not more.
Have you ever noticed that as soon
as people admit they really don’t understand something, a lot of people rush in
to help them out?
Try saying something like “I don’t
know … I’m new to this, you’re the experts, so you’re going to have to help me
out understanding this.”
You will often find others smile,
thinking they have this pigeon just where they want him, take him under their
wing and help him out.
Of course that’s usually just when
you have them where you want them.
They often reveal more than they
care to about their own needs and what they are willing to concede.
Most of us are too eager to show off
just what we know.
This can work against us.
We can often reveal too much too
soon about what we are willing to give up to get the deal.
We must let go of our ego satisfying
position of “know it all” and instead assume the profit making position of
innocence.
The reason for acting innocent is
that it diffuses the competitive spirit of the other side.
How can you fight with someone who
is asking you to help them negotiate with you? How can you carry on any type of
competitive banter with a person who says, “I don’t know, what do you think?”
Most people, when faced with this
situation, feel sorry for the other person and go out of their way to help him
or her.
Rulem7.
Ask Questions
Power Negotiators are never afraid
to ask the other party questions or for advice.
Even if you know the answers. Asking
questions tends to establish a climate of trust.
If you are not happy with the
response you get try and ask another question such as, “Why do you say that?”
This does two things; it buys you
some thinking time and it forces the other party to better justify their stated
position.
Always ask why.
Most people are afraid to reveal
their true motives.
Ask why and it may get this
information out in the open.
Listen carefully.
If you listen carefully enough, you
will discover everything the other party really wants out of the deal.
Most of us listen to how a person
talks more than what he or she says.
Try to understand what is really
being said.
To become a
successful property investor you need to learn these skills of
Power Negotiators, or at least get a professional negotiator on your side
as part of your team.
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