Negotiation Strategies April 11, 2012

3 Strategies for Negotiating a Compromise or Concession

In most negotiations, both sides move from their original positions. Each compromises by making some concessions to reach an agreement. There are twelve major do’s and don’ts of negotiating for a compromise or a concession. We’ll review three of them here:

1) Never fear to negotiate. Resist your embarrassment or fear of trying. Remember, as we always say- you get in life and business what you negotiate. We don't approach negotiation as a battle or a competition- so there is nothing to be anxious about or afraid of.

2) Leave some room to compromise. It can be tempting to drive a hard bargain, but this often leaves you too little room to reach an agreement. If you want to retain the business or personal relationship after the negotiation completes, be sure to consider whether the other party has also attained enough of their goals in the negotiation process. Keeping an eye out to the health of the future relationship is a good idea, whether the negotiation is business or personal.

3) Get something in return whenever you make a concession. Activate the mindset of “I give you this, you give me that.” There is great danger in giving too many large concessions too early; it is very difficult to recover from this and your results are likely to be poor.

Too many people fear negotiation in the first place and then move too quickly to a compromise when they do negotiate.

Next time you are in the process of negotiating for something, try slowing down. Make it a game.

See how much you can get, and how much you can give, and, who knows- you might even find negotiation is really fun.