Negotiation Tips – How To Get What You Want

Much of the success of a business is founded on negotiations, therefore hone this skill, and will reward your business with stronger relationships and a better bottom line.

Is the ability to negotiate an inherent quality, or is it learned?

Is it about gender, are men better negotiators, or is it women who are better at it?

In this blog article, we answer these questions and provide a few basic tips so you can get a better deal for your business and yourself!

We are all born negotiators. We’re at it from the moment we can have a voice, screaming to be fed or cuddled, and other requirements we need from our carer.  As we grow and hone our skill, some people develop them further, and they become expert negotiators.

How we negotiate differs by gender, too, with our inherent qualities coming to the foreground and play a role in the whole process.

Male/Female Inherent Negotiating Qualities

Before we ask the question:  Which sex is better at negotiating? Let’s first consider the inherent qualities of men and women that play a part in negotiations.

Men Are Better Liars

In this Forbes article, males have assumed the better negotiators as they are considered better liars than women and in a conflict situation which men also feel more comfortable with than women, lying their way out convincingly is a successful trait for negotiation.

Women Feel Quilty

Of course, women can and do lie too, but they’re more likely to end up feeling guilty and then end up giving in. Sigh!

Affinity, Collaboration & Win-Win Works For Women

It’s not all bad for women, though, as their inherent qualities of collaboration, affinity and desire to get a win-win for all is very much needed in business as it is in life.

Strong customer and supplier relationships rely on win-win outcomes.  In life as in business, where would we be if we were all focused just on our own success!

Men Are More Confident

However, in many business dealings, getting a better deal requires confidence, especially in conflict, and this is where men are often more willing to go the distance to come out on top. It might be why there are many more men than women in politics.

Tips To Be A Stronger Negotiator

Face The Challenge Head On

It’s hard to look past the ten tips of negotiating by Ed Brodow so check them out. In the meantime, here are our thoughts on some of the qualities you can learn to take your negotiating skill up a notch or two.

More so than men, women need to find the courage to stand up for what they want.   This can be learned, though working on fighting fear itself.

Men will face the challenge head-on; however, they may need to temper their communication style to be less aggressive but still assertive.

Do Your Homework

Knowing the subject matter well provides added confidence, so do your research, formulate your arguments and be in a position to provide supporting evidence.

Men are more likely to wing it in much the same way as President Trump.  🙂 However, the risk of failure is higher when all you’ve got is your fight.

Listen

The power of listening and then responding as opposed to the other way around is critical in negotiating.  While you know what you want, you don’t know what the other needs and remember it’s a negotiation, not a fight.

Ignore How The Other Person Is Behaving

Have you ever heard of emotional blackmail?  It’s a form of manipulation, and in behaviour, it can escalate to aggressive, verbal abuse or threats.  Ignoring the bad behaviour of the other person and focusing on the issues will allow you to concentrate on achieving better outcomes.

Take Your Time

A good deal takes time.  Avoid hurrying the process and, as a result, ending up with less than you could get for you or your business.  Don’t settle for a bad deal just because you’re fed up with how the negotiating works.

Be prepared to walk away and come back to the negotiating table when the other party is willing to reach an agreement that also works for you.

Summary

We do have inherent traits, and we rely on them in negotiations.  When we’re consciously self-aware of our strengths and weaknesses, we can do what we need to get a better deal every time.

Practice your newfound knowledge in simple negotiations in your everyday life to build your confidence.  Before you know it, it will become second nature to you, and you’ll see the difference it makes at work and in life. Are you ready to learn tips on leadership? See our 5 Tips on becoming a better business leader.