10/25/2011 11:45:00 AM
HEADLINES
NFDA: In Negotiating, Sell Value Before Price
Parents know who the best negotiators are, John Hamilton told the National Fastener Distributors Association autumn meeting.
“Children,” the author of Keep Negotiating noted.
“Somewhere around the college days we abandon that negotiating zeal, persistence and creativity as we had as kids,” Hamilton observed.
Most Americans have limited negotiating experience, such as car or house buying, salary and personal relationships, Hamilton said.
Before negotiating, begin with emphasizing value. “If you don’t sell value first, you are always defending price,” Hamilton emphasized.
The best negotiation result is win/win. The goal is a good deal.
Hamilton started studying negotiation when he was elected to a school board in Pennsylvania and was assigned to negotiate with the four labor unions.
Negotiations begin when “someone reacts to a proposal/offer,” Hamilton pointed out.
Negotiating tactics include the one-two punch of the “flinch” or animated adverse reaction and the “crunch” – which is getting a concession before giving one.
If the other side didn’t flinch, “I should have asked for more,” Hamilton said.
Other negotiation tactics include “bracketing” or controlling the expectation message; limited authority; the “trade off” of only giving when you can get; competition of alternatives; legitimacy by reducing positions to writing; bold stroke by taking a chance based on situation; and nibbling or asking for more after an agreement.
Hamilton’s five top rules for negotiating:
• You never get anything you don’t ask for – but how you ask can make all the difference.
• If you don’ sell value first, you will always be defending price. It is all about packaging and presentation.
• If you give it away, it has no value. “Always ask for something in return.”
• Never immediately accept the first offer.
• See and understand the perspective of others. “Begin by asking what would prompt the other side to accept my proposal.”
Money is not the only factor in negotiations, Hamilton said. “Both sides can get a good deal. You can get a good deal, even when the dollars are not good.”
Even when a financial discount is rejected, there are other ways to negotiate, Hamilton pointed out, such as, “Can I be upgraded to a suite?”
To avoid “no’s,” ask more creatively, Hamilton suggested.
Hamilton said the seven key words of negotiation are: “Is that the best you can do?” ©2011 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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