How Negotiation Helps You to Become a Successful Person

Children say their first words at 9-10 months of age. Adults use 15000 to 20000 words a day. Ask the person not to talk during the day with family or colleagues, and by the second hour, they will fail. This confirms that for humans, communication takes up much more time than most other activities. Therefore, negotiation is a crucial life skill.

The Benefits of Negotiation Skills

With negotiation skills, you will be able to:

• Mediate with people in any situation;
• Negotiate a better salary at an interview;
• Present a product so that it would be bought;
• Process the customer objections;
• Hire the right people to the team;
• Build a dream career.

Whether you plan to close a big deal, take part in the hiring process, or look for a promotion, you need negotiation skills. LinkedIn analyzed over 660 million professionals, as well as over 20 million companies and offices. The top five soft skills of the published study included negotiation abilities.

How to Develop Negotiation Skills

Here are some basic ways to improve your persuasion skills.

If selling a product, have a complete understanding of it

According to PwC research, 86% of customers are willing to buy or even overpay for a product when they have a positive customer experience. For this, a trader needs to know their stock inherently.

For example, a person wants to buy a tablet. In an electronics store, they will be asked about their preferences and requirements for the gadget. The salesperson then suggests the suitable models and describes the benefits of each. At first glance, they seem to be competent and friendly. However, what if a customer asks how long the tablet will last when used only for typing and listening to audio? Are there many sellers that would be able to answer such unexpected though relevant question right away?

Most often, such questions are perplexing. The customer is interested in the user experience – and it can only be discovered by using the product. Knowledge of the composition, technical characteristics, and product features is not enough to sell efficiently. It is essential to understand the effectiveness of the product and how it behaves in different situations.

Talk about benefits for your opponent

Negotiation is the closing of one’s needs through the needs of an opponent. Accordingly, it is necessary to clearly outline what needs of the opponent your proposal will cover in the negotiation process. Do not guess the needs but figure them out with questions.

Experiment with wording

Remember the famous iPod slogan “1000 songs in your pocket”? Or the Mastercard payment system with its “There are things that cannot be bought, for the rest, there is a Mastercard”? Short, clear, understandable language works in business presentations. When preparing them, strive for a concise form but convey more of the point.

Listen intently

Listen to the opponent to figure out what kind of result they expect. Based on the information received, ask questions if you are confident that they will increase the opponent’s involvement in the conversation. A universal problem for a business in any niche is: “What are the three key factors you should get from a deal to recommend us to your friends?”

Prepare for negotiations in advance if possible

Preparation allows you to develop a negotiation strategy, consider the proposal’s value for the interlocutor, or articulate your strengths.

Silence is also a skill

Pause when the situation calls for it. Make an offer to your opponent, and then wait for their answer. This would be your trump card as it:

• Demonstrates your confidence in the proposal;
• Creates the right amount of pressure, increasing the chances of a positive response. There is a feature of our limbic system – the so-called “fight or flight” response. When faced with real or perceived danger, the limbic system stimulates us to resist or try to get out of the situation – usually by flight.

Suppose someone begins to exert pressure in the negotiation process. In that case, the opponent’s natural unconscious reaction will be to avoid confrontation or get away from it, agreeing to the terms of the deal and preventing “conflict.”

These were the skills that would suit any negotiation situation in your life – private or otherwise. If you are more interested in business-related issues, check the source.

Final Thoughts

Improve your negotiation skills by practicing and learn to persuade people continuously. This can be achieved by participating in the Coffee Challenge, for instance. Next time you buy your coffee from a concept cafe or chain like Starbucks, ask for a 10% discount. Try to convince the cashier that you need this discount.

Do not forget to learn how to defend yourself against malevolent negotiation tactics. You can read more about this in our article.

The art of persuasion is not an innate talent but a skill that can and should be studied and trained. By learning how to do this, you can achieve your goals and gain authority both in business and personal life.