same way, as adults, we need to recognize when we’re in a position to negotiate for something of value that isn’t necessarily just more money — like longer commitments, more favorable out-clauses, better payment terms, preferred partner status, faster delivery times, or other valuable issues when money is simply non-negotiable or not even part of the conversation. Value Is in the Eye of the Beholder Since negotiation is about exchanging things of value for other things of value — specifically, things that you value less for things that you value more — then it’s important to understand how to value those items. Just because you don’t see value in something doesn’t mean that it’s not valuable to the other side. The opposite is true too: Just because you see value in something doesn’t mean the other side does too. Don’t assume that the qualities you see in something match the qualities the other person sees. One of the most common commercial trades involves exchanging more volume for better pricing. That’s a great trade, unless volume is not the driver of price.
I used to build field marketing teams composed of hundreds, if not thousands, of people. These teams would go into the marketplace to evangelize my client’s products. I was always dumbfounded when a client would ask for a discount as we added more people to the program. In order for me to reduce my price, I would either have to reduce the salaries of the hundreds of people I’d already hired, or begin hiring people at such a reduced rate that it would jeopardize the quality of the program. Volume was not a driver of price. Therefore, we had to find other items to negotiate. Even in times of stress, skilled negotiators take the time to find out what’s important to the other side. They test assumptions, use hypotheticals to explore boundaries, and ask questions about what the other side finds valuable. In the end, if they don’t know how the other side perceives value, they’ll never be able to trade for value. In times of crisis, we develop tunnel vision because we’re fixated on our most important value driver or top objective. However, if you tap into your inner child — the one who had to negotiate with limited resources — you’ll find more things of value with which you can negotiate. Then it’s time to get curious about what the other side values. From there, your blinders will become less opaque and your field of vision will expand, revealing many more possibilities at the negotiating table. “Negotiation is a trading activity.”
“Negotiators under stress are particularly susceptible.”
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