Negotiation skills can bring more business success than just about any other skill. Some people have it, and some don’t. Look at the businesses run by these people to see the difference.
There are some things we learn by reward. There are some things we learn by pain. And there are some things we learn by habit or practice.
It is common knowledge that to succeed, you must have drive and goals. You must have plans and organization. In fact, you must have a lot of acquired or natural skills to be successful in business, and even life in general. The art of negotiating may be among the top five skills necessary, for without the skill of negotiation, you will either dramatically limit yourself or fail completely. You must be able to negotiate with others to gain ground in any venture.
Trust me, I have seen the results of a personality completely devoid of a negotiating ability. Actually, I have known several. Each of these acquaintances of mine could always see things very, very clearly…from their perspective. But they could not, or simply would not, see things from anyone else’s perspective. They all believed the best way to win was to force their opinions and interests until they got their way.
False belief.
In some situations, these individuals got what they wanted.They would push and push and push until the other, who was not so difficult, would give in. But over the long haul, over time, these people do not get their way. Because to get one’s way all the time means everyone else is not getting theirs. And that doesn’t last.
Reputations have a way of messing up future relationships. The bulldog negotiators, the ones who really don’t negotiate, end up losing. They lose because eventually everyone else learns about them, and refuses to trust them or work with them.
The key to victory in business is to view all things as beneficial to everyone involved, and that means to view situations from the eyes of the person seated at the other side of the table, be it a seller, a buyer, a lessee, or a lessor. This comes about by one, and only one, manner of communication.
Negotiation is a necessary part of most deals. The reason is basic: all parties to a transaction want the best for themselves. It’s called being human. And the best for one rarely works out to be the best for the other. In situations where the opposing parties must give something up to make the deal work, you have the options of:
1. Demanding all things your way, come hell or high water. Case closed.
2. Giving in to all the opponent’s demands to get the deal through and be done with it.
3. Negotiating your way through it, giving up what you can afford to lose and keeping what you cannot afford to lose.
Negotiation skills don’t come naturally to most people; we’re too selfish. But they can be learned, and learned well, and negotiating as a way of life and business is a most precious ability, to be used in every situation where its use will ensure business success.
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