Master the Art of Getting What You Want

Negotiation Skills That Actually Work

There are 3 things you need to know about Learning to Negotiate:

Subtopic 1: Negotiation is about understanding Human Nature. Emotions play heavily into the outcomes.

Say you’re negotiating your Salary for a Job Offer you’re thinking of taking. It might be hard if you’ve been out of a job for the last year and you finally got an offer, but it’s a bit under what you were expecting.

This is a crucial moment here, you could just take the job and find a way to live on a lower Salary, but its been proven that the best time you have to increase an offer is before you take it. Why? Because you have leverage. They obviously want something you have, your labor. You want something they have, their Money. Now is the time to counter and find out the max amount they’d be comfortable with paying you and ask for that.

Subtopic 2: Active Listening and Trust

There are a few things you can do to help someone to trust you, especially in a negotiating situation.

Mirroring: Copying the other person’s behavior makes them feel understood and that they are being effective because they know you understand where they are coming from

Labeling: Start sentences with “It sounds like” or “It looks like” and then try and gauge their situation and emotions. This will help negative feelings dissipate

Changing your Tone of Voice: The pitch and speed of your voice can say a lot about your intentions. A fast, High pitched voice can display fear or anxiety or nervousness, a slow, calm one can display Authority and Emotional Stability.

Subtopic 3: Understanding Fairness (Quid Pro Quo)

Deadlines are necessary in negotiation and in Business. They help the outcome not drag on forever, allowing you to reach a verdict much sooner. The also help fairness. If you are negotiating a Salary, having clear definition of how much time you have to decide, keeps both parties from trying to delay and causing more problems and mistrust. As long as you try from the beginning and say, “In the Interest of Fairness” both parties will try and come to a conclusion that won’t screw over the other party.

PS. If you want to find out more, Read the Book “Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss: https://amzn.to/3TvzNup

Until Tomorrow,
Jason Ziebarth
JZ#553