by Craig Dalziel, Senior Manager at Pearson Frank International
If you really think about it, you probably negotiate at least once every day of your life. When you put your takeout lunch order in you’re negotiating the contents as well as the estimated delivery or pickup time. When you’re speaking with your cable provider you’re negotiating a lower bill with increased benefits, much like you would with a vendor or when dealing with a customer.
If you have young children, there’s all manners of conflict resolution, compromise and other subtle – and not so subtle! – negotiation tactics taking place whenever you have to do the school run each morning. You’ve probably got a lot more experience of than you might think.
In all of the above examples, and in negotiation as a whole, the key concept is to get what you want or need while acknowledging and not neglecting the other person’s wants or needs at the same time. You’re not trying to cheat someone so you can get your way, you’re trying to find that sweet spot where you both benefit – that’s the real secret of negotiation.
But how can both you and your customer or client leave negotiations feeling happy with your lot? In the recruitment industry, you live or die by your ability to negotiate. Employers are looking for a specific talent and workers are looking for the right deal that matches them and their needs and your job is to find the right fit and compromise between the two until the company has the employee they have been searching for who will improve their business and the worker has the salary, benefits and job satisfaction they are looking for. Here are some tips learned from this industry that will help you in any negotiating situation, whether you are aiming for a pay rise, haggling for a higher salary at a new company, or settling on a price for your services with a client.
Actively listen.
Don’t underestimate the value of truly listening to someone. It’s a skill a lot of people say they do well but are actually only listening until there is a gap in the conversation for them to jump into. Laziness often comes in during the time when you should be listening and that’s when people start making assumptions based on selective hearing. Some people are guilty of zoning out while others are talking and some people have to really concentrate when someone else is talking.
The thing is though, if you can learn to really listen to people it does three things: it shows the person you’re speaking to that you respect them, it builds trust between both parties, and you also learn exactly what the other person wants. They do the difficult part for you! They tell you what would make them happy! Once you know what they want, and you know what you want, you can now start agreeing how to both get what you want. Simple, right? But if you are zoning out or trying to make the conversation about you then you will likely miss this vital information and be left wondering ‘where did it all go wrong?’
Some good tips for active listening include making notes so you can reference what the other person has said later on and repeating the information back to the person you are speaking to (more clarifying than repeating verbatim). Pay particular attention to nonverbal cues too and remember the 55-38-7 rule: communication is 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, and 7% what you are actually saying.
Find common ground.
Another way to make sure negotiations start on the right foot is to seek out common ground. It takes very little effort to find this information out; check their Twitter or LinkedIn profiles to see if you went to similar schools, if you’ve been on holiday to the same country, or if you watch similar types of movies. You’re bound to find something you both enjoy (or both hate) and that can lead to building up trust and a stronger bond earlier in the process.
Negotiation can also be considered as managing relationships. It’s always harder to being in a confrontation with a friend so by finding that common ground you are stacking the odds in your favour.
If you have watched an episode of American Pickers or Pawn Stars (or even attended a yard sale), the person looking to buy the item often tries to strike up a conversation before making an offer. Whether it’s extolling the virtues of vintage Coca Cola paraphernalia or discussing key events in history or manufacturing, the rapport is always first and foremost before any talks of gains or losses begins.
Seek a win-win outcome.
It’s easy to be selfish during negotiations, but having a selfish attitude is at the detriment of a positive outcome for both parties. In many circumstances, you want to build or nourish a business relationship, not exploit someone. Successful negotiation should result in a win-win deal for both parties.
A siege mentality results in a ‘you against me’ mindset and that is the worst frame of mind to be in when attempting to negotiate. If you put people on the back foot they are automatically going to be more cautious and defensive making your job of convincing them to invest in you or your company that much more difficult.
Even if you do get your own way through a brute force approach, fear and resentment can still fester and this could come back to haunt you further down the line. The one thing you carry with you through life is your reputation, and you could be building up the wrong kind of reputation with this tactic. It’s best to listen to the wants and needs of the person you are speaking to and then responding by saying what you offer and how it can fix the issues they are facing. You are providing something of value to them and the agreement is going to be mutually beneficial. This could be a product that makes the client’s life easier or it could be asking for a pay rise by demonstrating the additional responsibilities you handle and the extra benefit that brings to the company.
Turn objections into opportunities.
A classic sales technique during negotiation is to offer a counter or an objection when it sounds like the conversation might end unfavourably. How many times have you asked for something in retail or through customer services and the person on the end of the phone replies with “I’m sorry, I don’t have the authority to give you that discount/deal/etc”? Annoying, right? You’re trying to get the best deal and you might think it’s close but the other person is testing you by trying to shut the door in your face.
Many people might accept that decision and end the conversation there. With a sales mentality, the next – more positive – step would be to acknowledge the problem and provide a solution. With your sales hat on you might reply: “I appreciate that you don’t have the authority but do you know somebody who might?”
Acknowledging negative, potentially conversation ending objections makes the other person feel valued as you have taken onboard what they have said and you have steered the other person to a more desirable outcome.
Knowledge is a powerful weapon.
Before you enter any negotiations, you need to be prepared for all manner of different outcomes. How do you prepare? By doing your research. If you are going into a meeting to negotiate a pay rise, you will want to look at anonymous salary surveys specific to your industry so you can see if you are being underpaid in your role.
Remember techniques for overcoming objections and if, in this scenario, a monetary raise is out of the question, are there any other perks or incentives you could look for? Many companies, especially in the technology sector, offer gym memberships, mobile phones, laptops, food vouchers and more to their employees. See what other companies are offering and use that as a backup plan – remember, this is all about compromise!
The Bigger Picture.
Although it’s frustrating and you might feel disappointed, you won’t always get your way. There are always missed opportunities and things you could have done differently but the important thing to remember is that you can learn from these mistakes and make yourself a better negotiator.
Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture, either. By building a positive rapport and relationship with this person it could lead to opportunities that do work out further down the line.
Craig Dalziel is Senior Manager at tech recruitment agency Pearson Frank International. An expert in negotiation throughout his career, Craig ensures businesses and employees are both satisfied when it comes to hiring the right people.
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