Power Tools: Five Facts of Negotiations

1. You are negotiating all the time.
2. The thing you want is controlled by someone else.
3. Every negotiation involves information, power and time.
4. You need to be able to relate to the other party. Personality types can make it or break it.
5. Usually the responses you encounter will be predictable.

Top Ten of Negotiating:

1. Know your subject.
2. Listen and do not interrupt.
3. Have a written agenda in front of you.
4. Have great eye contact and smile.
5. Learn to love silence.
6. Learn to paraphrase.
7. Set your goals and any limits.
8. Speak clearly and slow down your speech.
9. Take your emotions out of the meeting.
10. Listen, listen, listen.

Six Things that Make a Professional Negotiator:

1. Always be willing to create a win-win situation.
2. Realize that both sides want to win and feel pressure to do so.
3. You must want to learn the skills of negotiating.
4. To become proficient, you must understand negotiating skills.
5. Practice what you have learned at any new skill, including negotiating.
6. Never feel intimidated. You have the same rights or feelings as the other party involved.

Six Necessary Ingredients in Negotiating:

1. Always learn what the other party wants and let the other party know your wants.
2. Get is much information as possible on the other party and their needs and wants.
3. Always reach for a compromise. If you get too much, the other party always loses.
4. Try not to narrow your negotiations down to a single issue.
5. Price is not always the most important factor.
6. Different people or different personalities want different things.

In a Truly Successful Negotiation, Both Parties Feel That:

1. They have won or feel a sense of accomplishment.
2. The other side was sincere and cared.
3. The other party was fair in its negotiations.
4. They would have no problem negotiating again in the future.
5. The other side was honest and will keep its promise.

The Negotiator's Checklist:

1. Never say yes to the first offer. You can always return to it later.
2. Always maintain a walk-away position. You cannot appear too eager to say yes.
3. Try not to be the first to name a price. If possible, let the other party do so.
4. If you have to name a price, try to keep it low but flexible.
5. Make a big deal out of every concession you make, and then try for a counter-concession.
6. Most concessions are made in the last part of negotiation. Do details upfront.
7. Do not try to split the difference. Instead try to get the other party to make the offer to you.
8. If you have a deadline, do not let the other party know; it could work against you.
9. The person under the greater time pressure generally has the greater chance of losing.
10. Try to be the party who writes the contract or puts the proposal in writing.
11. Never negotiate on the phone, because you cannot read body language or emotions.
12. Make a constant effort to watch the other party's body language. It maintains focus.

Where to Sit in Negotiations:

1. When you are negotiating with only one person, sit where both of you can watch each other.
2. If you have two people on your team, try to sit apart so you can work independently.
3. If you have more people than the other party, sit together for a feeling of power.
4. If the other party has more people, seat your team between them to reduce their power.
5. If possible, sit at the end of the table, which is perceived as a position of power.

Qualities of a Great Negotiator:

1. Discipline
2. Endurance
3. Respect
4. Patience
5. Empathy
6. Humor
7. Integrity
8. Dependability
9. Flexibility
10. Fairness

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