Kenny Rogers’ song The Gambler talks about an encounter with a gambler on a train ride. The song says the gambler “made a life out of reading people’s faces”. The gambler said “if you gonna play the game… you gotta learn to play it right. You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, and know when to run.”
This made me think about business and life in general. It can feel like one big gamble at times. So, we must learn how to play the game; the game of give- take- negotiate. In other words, we need to learn how to be an effective negotiator. Negotiations is all about coming to an argument, knowing when to give, take, and occasionally fake (call a bluff).
An effective negotiator gets the most out of negotiations by arming him/her-self with four things: mission, objective(s), strategy, and tactics.
First, realize you are on a mission when it comes to negotiations. If you are on a mission, you have an assignment to carry out. With that being the case, what signifies when the assignment is complete? Before starting any negotiations, have a desired and an acceptable outcome outlined in your mind. Desired is the ultimate outcome, and acceptable is the minimum you are willing to give, take, or negotiate on. If you don’t know when your mission has been accomplished, you may end up over or under negotiating.
Second, know and understand the objective of your mission. Why are you there negotiating in the first place? Why is it important and how does it benefit you, as well as the other party involved? Knowing the answers to these questions sets a solid foundation to build your strategy upon. You must have a strategy to accomplish your mission. What’s your plan of action? This doesn’t mean plans can’t be altered during negotiations. However, you must give some forethought to your approach.
Lastly, what tactics are you planning to employ in your negotiations? It will be helpful to familiarize yourself with common tactics often used in negotiates, such as the bogey, nibble, missing person, give-give-take, all or nothing, and lowball or highball; just to name a few. There are so many ways people use these devices to sway or influence a decision. Take some time to research common tactics and the various scenarios or context in which they are used. Do this not just to understand how to use them on others, but to be able to recognize when others may be using them on you.