Negotiation skills are essential tools in our lives, especially in professional settings. Mastering these abilities can increase the chances of us getting what we aim for, from landing dream jobs to winning multimillion-dollar deals. What are exactly these competencies? What sets them apart from the other speaking skill types developed at home or school?
The question seems understandable because some people are still confused about effective negotiation skills. Their confusion is due to the fact they don't know what words or language styles are better for expressing their ideas in professional settings. This article will address the issue and share simple tips to nail this.
What are negotiation skills?
Negotiation skills are one of the social expertise that allows you to interact with others well, including for professional purposes. They are very essential in our jobs regardless of the business lines. The masteries bring together some people to discuss and settle differences and then reach an agreement that benefits them all. Both intrapersonal and interpersonal skills contribute to the successful application of the capacities.
The process of negotiation involves problem analysis, strategy-making, persuasion, collaboration, and communication. The more practise you have on your intrapersonal and interpersonal abilities, the better you’ll get at the abilities needed for every business goal. You are more likely to develop proficiencies that are beneficial for professional situations like salary negotiation. If your job involves marketing and sales, the competencies are part of your daily job because you must meet certain sales targets.
The targets can differ depending on the type of products or sales. The more expensive your products or services are, the more advanced your negotiation skills are usually. This is due to the top-ranked potential clients that you have to persuade because they have certain considerations, such as budget and offers from your competitors.
Keys for efficient negotiation skills
As hinted above, what makes negotiation skills seem challenging is when small debates happen. You may apply the skills the hardest when you wish to secure a business deal with a major corporation. To arrive at the expected contract number, you have to apply several soft skills at once.
You don’t have to study many soft competencies out there. This is the list of seven effective soft abilities that once you sharpen them all, you will reap tremendous results. You can pick which of the seven keys suits you the most for different negotiation purposes.
Clear communication
Good communication is the key to solving all types of differences. You need to improve your verbal and written communication skills. The reason is that negotiation skills can require written forms, such as email or even formal letters, depending on the business type.
Body language interpretation plays an important part as well. As you negotiate, pay attention to the facial expressions of the other party. Shrugging indicates their lack of interest in continuing the process. Smiling and nodding frequently probably mean they wish to talk more.
Intentional listening
All parties must come to the negotiation table with intentional listening as the first rule. This skill is getting critical nowadays because the world seems to promote more on speaking. Intentional listening will open the door to a mutual understanding that will lead to winning the negotiation.
Self-Control
Negotiation skills require you to be able to manage emotions. The discussion can get heated, which means all parties want to defend their arguments. This makes sense because all parties have strong evidence to support their opinions. This is where positive emotion is such a game-changer.
Try to stay calm and keep your focus on others even if they seem to oppose your statements. Remember that you come to the negotiation table on behalf of your company so you can’t simply reply with harsh words. This patience will set up positive impressions on the external parties that can benefit in the future.
Persuasion
One of the most difficult aspects of negotiation skills is persuading people to get what you expect. This becomes more complex when you are the party that expects more from the negotiation. You come to the meeting as a sales executive while the external one is the potential client.
In that business scene, you must practise simple aspects, such as efficient statements for persuasion. The other solution is listening well to the expectations of the external party so that both can come to a mutual agreement. In case of failure, you have to be capable of accepting the truth without looking too regretful.
Trust
When applying negotiation skills, you may sometimes focus too much on the goals that you promise more than you can deliver. Never forget that business requires trust and constant good service delivery. If you can’t keep the promise on the two, you can lose clients right away.
Say truthfully what things you can provide that align with the contract number. If they ask for some things you can’t complete in due time, be honest. Don’t disappoint them because they won’t use your service anymore. This will taint your company’s reputation in the long term.
Decision-Making
At the end of it all, the negotiation skills boil down to making a decision. This key can become very complex as the negotiation undergoes many processes. The other parties may counter your arguments. You have to consider several factors to secure one decision.
Parallelism should be drawn between the earliest expectation and the actual outcome after the negotiation. Think about the “middle result” that should benefit your company and the external party. The result should be communicated to the external party with polite words; hence, the business relationship remains intact.
How to improve negotiation skills?
You can start small, which focuses on bettering communication and fact-finding skills to support your negotiation. You don’t have to apply the following to achieve business goals. Try these for small scenarios, such as gaining approvals from other family members on certain household appliances as you expect.
- Do the research: Study the topic of the negotiation well so that you can formulate a reasonable goal. You need to know the external party completely, including their industry background and actual business needs. Don’t forget to observe your competitors’ products so you will know how to offer better than them.
- Thorough Planning: Whenever necessary, create a thorough plan for various scenarios that may arise during the negotiation. This will assist you in practising negotiation skills. In meeting clients for business pitching, you have to prepare with Plan A and Plan B. Plan A should state your arguments when the clients accept your business pitching but offer a lower price. Your plan should include ways to persuade them so they can agree to a higher price. Plan B should contain your strategies if the clients decline the business pitching. Mention the competitive advantage that sets your company apart from the competitors.
- Self-Confidence: Negotiation skills will mean nothing if you are not confident enough. Practise how to talk well in front of a group of people. Pay attention to your body language as well. Simple gestures, such as a smile and eye contact, can leave a good or bad impression on the eyes of the clients.
- Graceful Walk Over: To anticipate very unexpected results, learn to leave the negotiation table gracefully. Don’t add your voice tone because this may offend the external party. You should stay cool rather than utter polite words to end the negotiation. When your firm’s reputation is at stake, you should remember this bad scenario that may arise at any time.
Practise your negotiation skills with our experts
The College of Contract Management has courses, such as Personal Development and Business, that can be your foundation in building your negotiation skills. Our experts will guide you through the step-by-step process of developing competencies. You will be exposed to some negotiation scenes to get better solutions when you experience them in real business settings.
Lastly, you can consult with them if you encounter problems or special cases in your professional setting. Advice from our experts can directly address the issue to help you put it into action and create real solutions for expected results.
