Negotiating with the opposite side is always a challenge. Whether dealing at work, dating or trying to buy something online, this video shows you how to get what you want without getting burned too badly in the process. Negotiation is a skill that can be learned. You’ll find yourself winning (almost) every single negotiation. Have you ever wished that you could win every discussion you entered? You can win an important business deal, whether a job interview, a meeting with a new customer, or a big company contract, if you’ve over-prepared yourself.
I’ve gotten a lot of business using the method I’m talking about. It doesn’t need you to be a natural-born negotiator to utilize. I’ve known some timid and soft-spoken individuals who have gotten excellent discounts using this strategy…so it’s something that anybody can do. Let me demonstrate how and why it works.
How to Come Out on Top in a Negotiation?
The main processes in winning a negotiation are the same regardless of what sort of company you’re in or what you’re selling. The following are the four stages I use to complete large deals:
Step 1: Determine the nature of the company’s issues.
Preparation is crucial in negotiations and the party that prepares the most wins. This is because the side with more knowledge gets to shape the conversation. They get to steer the proposal’s course and persuade the opposite side to accept their parameters.
Let’s pretend you’re an Internet marketer seeking to persuade an Intuit division to engage you for a large contract. You’re leaping through hoops during the meeting, and then they ask how much you charge. That’s when you present them with a proposal outlining the significant issues with their website. Let’s assume there are three of them:
- You’ve mapped out their ecommerce transaction flow and identified vital points when customers quit the checkout process.
- On their landing page, you’ve seen a lack of essential characteristics of trust, which might be losing them, subscribers.
- You’ve identified strategic problems in their email newsletter, including how they make their emotional appeal.
You’ve also put the number of leads or sales they’re likely losing next to each of these issues. You then inquire about the kind of traffic that passes through these areas. Finally, you share the benchmarks from a case study you gathered with them, regardless of what they quote you—exact percentages, a range, or shrug their shoulders. This case study demonstrates how much money and business they will lose if they ignore these procedures. You’ve had them sitting up in their seats at this point in the conversation. They are paying attention to you. After that, you’ll go on to the next step. The most important thing to remember is to recognize issues that can be remedied. Don’t bring up issues that might have a significant impact on a company and result in much pushback. On the other hand, be sure you’re identifying issues that will generate a significant amount of income. There won’t be much money in it for you if you uncover minor problems that will only save a corporation $10,000.
Step 2: Come up with solutions
You now give them the remedies once you’ve identified their most pressing issues. Then, in our present situation, you implement a strategy to address these issues.
- You propose that the transaction route is too lengthy and that you try a shorter one utilizing multivariate testing tools and an optimization method.
- You show them a copy of their landing page that has been adequately touched up with the trust components that are missing… after which you should take another snapshot of your changed version.
- You give three or four emails from their sequence, along with your suggestions for improving their emotional appeal.
The individual is now leaning out of their chair, lingering over the information you’ve just delivered. However, your work isn’t finished yet. Key takeaway: Your remedies, like the challenges you identified, must be reasonable. Not only must the company’s representatives enjoy your ideas, but they must also believe that they are simple to execute. And, ideally, they should be solutions that don’t need a lot of, if any, resources from the organization to whom you’re presenting.
Step 3: Proposed Timetable
The next step is to estimate how long it will take to resolve these issues.
- “The landing page might be done in a day or two.”
- “As we test and tune the transaction flow, it will take a bit longer, but I think we can increase ROI by 10 to 15% in 30 days.”
- “Due to all of the content production that is required, the email sequence will most likely take the longest. That’ll be the final thing we do, and it may take anywhere from two to three months to finish.”
Then you provide your suggested priority list:
“It’s self-evident that the transaction route, which is directly linked to sales and income, should be corrected first. Then, since it’s low-hanging fruit, we’ll concentrate on the landing page. Finally, we’ll focus on the email campaign.” The key conclusion is that the schedule you provide must be reasonable and ambitious. They will not employ you if it takes you longer to execute the solution than it takes the firm. You should also add the economic effect when providing them a deadline since companies prefer to make choices based on money rather than emotions.
Step 4: Strike at the neck
You have them precisely where you want them at this stage. However, if you don’t manage the next step appropriately, you may still screw up the negotiation and close the transaction. Now is the time to make a selling request. What matters, though, is how you ask. The question must be phrased as a “Yes” or “Yes” inquiry. “So, do you want to wait until the end of the month to get started…or should we get started on this right away?” you could ask. “It’s your decision.” “Do you believe we should begin with the transaction path?” Should it be the landing page or vice versa? “How do you feel?” You’ve structured the conversation in such a way that they’ll respond “Yes” no matter how you ask for their business. Takeaway: Aggressive negotiators are strong negotiators. Why wouldn’t a corporation employ you if you could convince them why working with you is financially beneficial? So, rather than asking whether they want to use you, compel them to.
Why is it beneficial to study?
The busier someone is and the more preparation you’ve done, the more likely you are to win the contract when it comes to bargaining. See, the person you’re meeting with, let’s suppose it’s a male, is probably aware of the issues. He’s never gotten around to finding out what the problem was. Most likely, his supervisor has been whining about dwindling ecommerce revenues. He’s just too busy to do something about it, let alone study it to the depths you have. The “blank page syndrome” affects active individuals. Because they are already overburdened, they do not have the mental resources to devote to handling these additional difficulties. You, on the other hand, are the answer to their problems. Also, don’t take it personally if they give advice. People who are pressed for time like making ideas. Because that’s what busy people do, they love to alter and expand on ideas. The experiment used pre-existing suggestions since coming up with a solution from scratch would take too long. You’re their expert. The fact that I can complete million-dollar transactions is not because I am a better salesperson or negotiator than you. It is because I do my schoolwork. I go into a firm and tell them precisely what I’m going to accomplish and how I will do it. Yes, they can steal it and refuse to employ me, which has occurred in the past, but most corporations are too sluggish to do it. That isn’t anything to be concerned about. All you have to do now is make sure you’ve put out everything so they won’t have any severe issues.
Why is it beneficial to behave like a punk?
Listen, you don’t have to wait till you have a vast customer to employ this method. You are free to contact the significant customer on your own. Find a customer or firm with whom you’d want to collaborate, research what they do, identify their difficulties, develop solutions, and build deadlines. Then give them a call and work your way up the food chain until you reach the correct person. You’d be surprised how many times I’ve been able to cold phone a corporation and get switched to the “director of marketing” after requesting to talk with them. When you’ve found the proper individual, tell her you’d want to speak to her about something. This is how I was able to work for companies like Amazon and Viacom. I didn’t hang up and wait for them to call. Instead, I learned how to get in touch with the people who make the decisions. I pretended to be a punk. That may seem not lovely, but the higher up in the organization, the more she respects someone who tells it like it is without sugarcoating it.
Furthermore, a little arrogance goes a long way. They don’t want to recruit someone whose hand they will have to hold. They’re looking for someone who can go in and tell them what has to be done and then finish it. That’s how you get the upper hand in every transaction. And you’ll earn a lot of money in the process. The main point is that individuals like to work with more intelligent people. People who aren’t as bright are more insecure, so appear confident if you want to prove that you know what you’re talking about. Just be careful not to get carried away.
If they answer “no,” what should you do?
This method, like everything else in life, isn’t without flaws. Even so, some individuals will answer “no.” It may be due to a lack of funds. They’d love to pay you to complete the task, but the funds aren’t available. Whatever justifications they give you, you must discover why; when you find out why to go back around and re-ask for sale based on your new knowledge. Just because they say “no” once does not imply they will never say “yes” again. You may adapt your pitch around why they said no if you find out why they said no. For example, if there was a financial issue, you might charge a reduced upfront cost and ask for the remainder of the money after the project or when particular milestones are met. Alternatively, if you want to keep things simple, you may limit the scope of your task to suit inside their budget. If they try to avoid it, be direct: “Do you want me to assist you to generate more money?” If that’s the case, how long will it take to start dating?” The secret is to refuse to accept “no” as an answer. The critical conclusion is that “no” means “not right now.” There’s always a way to work out a deal. You may need to be flexible with your price or provide a performance-based agreement that covers all of your expenditures upfront. When they say no, don’t give up.
When utilizing this method, individuals often make the following blunders.
Negotiators with a lot of experience know how to cope with other negotiators. They also understand how to deceive rookie negotiators. There are a few classic bargaining blunders to avoid if that describes you.
- Talking to the incorrect person doesn’t matter how well prepared you are if you are not speaking with the decision-maker. So request the decision-maker as soon as possible, and ensure that they are included in the discussion at every stage. By the way, whether there are two or ten individuals in the room, you should know who the decision-maker is…and speak to them.
- Giving in – If you negotiate long enough, you’ll meet a very excellent negotiator who notices what you’re doing. “I understand what you’re doing,” they would remark. Naturally, you’d want me to say yes. I’ll say yes only if you do X.” “Is X reasonable?” is the inquiry you must ask yourself. If it isn’t, don’t surrender. Request more time.
- Being hurried – Whether on intention or not, limiting your speaking time to “X minutes” will not work. Negotiating under duress is tough. Because skilled negotiators are aware of this, they may increase the pressure by shortening your meeting duration. Don’t get taken in by it. “When can you give me Y minutes?” dig in your heels and say, where Y is the amount of time you need to offer your presentation.
The key message is that you must always have the upper hand. You’ve lost the negotiation once you’ve lost the upper hand. So don’t be scared to push back a bit to ensure you have the upper hand. If you continue to say “yes” to all of their requests, they will eventually squeeze you, and the bargain will no longer be worth it to you.
Common objections to your proposal and how to manage them
You’re undoubtedly old enough to understand that discussions don’t occur in a vacuum. They’re never relatively as smooth as they look on paper. During the presentation, things will go wrong, such as objections being voiced. Here’s how you can get ready:
- “What makes you think I should trust you?” This should be simple if you’ve done your research. You’ll be able to back up your claims with data and case studies that you’ve uncovered. You’ll also display testimonials if you have any. You’ll also disclose any necessary media endorsements you’ve received.
- “I’m not certain you’re the proper guy for the job.” “Why not?” ask them these four questions. Do you have someone in mind who you think might be a good fit? Do you have any additional candidates in mind? Who?” If you realize you fall short of their expectations based on the facts they provide, say, “Can we work together if I do X?” If they continue to reply “no,” there is a problem. Get to the root of the problem.
- “I’m not convinced this is as critical as you claim.” Granted, without access to their raw data, you can’t be confident if the issues you’ve uncovered are the same issues they’re having. You may, however, indicate that you’ll collaborate with them to obtain this information. You may even suggest working with them again if you discover an issue during this step.
The main message is that closing transactions take time. They’re seldom simple, and you’ll almost always hit snags. Prepare to battle and put the prospective consumer under strain. If you demonstrate that you are active and have many firms contacting you, they will want to deal with you, and you will encounter fewer obstacles. As a result, ensure that you demonstrate your success by beginning the first meeting by introducing yourself and detailing what you have done for previous firms.
Conclusion
Let me conclude by noting that I like negotiating. I like sitting across from someone and persuading them to believe the same way I do. On the other hand, you may despise it and believe it is manipulative. It’s not manipulative unless you’re lying. It’s known as an influence. It has the potential to revolutionize your life if you learn how to utilize it. One of the reasons I fell in love with bargaining is this. I discovered that through influencing others, I could get things done, achieve my objectives, and assist others along the way. It wasn’t always straightforward. I’ve had a lot of bad luck in talks. When my partner and I sought to raise money for Crazy Egg, we pitched to hundreds of venture capitalists. We didn’t get any money from any of them. That didn’t deter me, however. I took “no” as “not right now” when they stated it. I persevered, and over time, I improved my ability to persuade others to give me money.
Frequently Asked Question
What are the five rules of negotiation?
A: The five rules of negotiation are as follows. One should be realistic, show interest in the other person’s point of view, know your boundaries, negotiate from a position of power, and stand your ground.
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