At some point in our lives we all need the skills to negotiate.
During an interview, when the offer letter is received, you still can negotiate your salary. Doing some research online provides you with the salary bracket, factor your years of experience, Include the skills you are bringing to the company, and you should be able get the salary you are hoping for your new job.
Negotiation skills are useful during a project, working with third parties. You are going to need to use those skills to negotiate pricing, delivery date etc. In some cases, you can find yourself at their mercy. Thinking you are facing the Great Wall of China trying to climb with a spoon and a fork as tools. It can be daunting if you do not have the negotiation’s skills nor, do you have someone else that can help you to successfully navigate those waters.
One of the most common practice’s I have seen is bullying during the negotiations. Individuals would use this technique thinking they can archive great results. Each time it fails to deliver the result everyone hoped for, but instead brought more headaches. The situation went from a simple negotiation to “world war III”. You need to find a way to diffuse the situation afterwards. To restore peace, you need to remove the “bully” from the next round of the negotiation.
The best negotiators I have worked with were corporate lawyers. As nice and sweet as they could be when speaking with them daily, when time came to negotiate they were focused and extremely sharp, to the limit of cut throat.
Prior to any negotiations you need to set your goals, what you can live with and what you can live without. It is not a one-way street. You need to be willing to give up something to get what you need.
Every negotiation I have been part of were successful because of the approached we took. We communicated clearly what our goal was, but the key during the negotiation was we never bullied the other party. A calm demeanor has more chance to open great communication than bulling. Threats will get you nowhere, being civilized and courteous will bring great results.
Like the mantra says, “you attract more flies with honey than vinegar”
Becoming a good negotiator takes a lot of practice, practice, practice. You can take online classes, read articles but if you do not practice you are not going to excel at it.
By practicing those skills daily at work and at home, I have negotiated salaries, cars, home etc. I learned alongside with great negotiators that were more than happy to teach me the ropes. It is up to you to learn. I have always taken the time when working with individuals to learn what they were doing. People are more than willing to teach you what they know.
As a first-grade teacher once told her students “Listen and Learn”.
Life is a learning journey, you can be an observer, or you can be an active participant, it is up to you.