How to Be Successful In Negotiation: 3 Main Rules I Always Use
Regardless of whom I am negotiating with — a partner, an investor, or a client — I use three universal rules that help me achieve what I want.
Hi! My name is Milya Kotery, I am a freelance expert and content marketer. I talk about selling your digital products and increasing your freelance income. Follow if you want to know more about leveling up your freelance business!
Take care
Make it clear to the other party that you are really interested in cooperating with them. Get ready: find out what a person’s background is, what is important to them in business, and their values and priorities.
If this is a future partner, think about what benefits they will receive from cooperation — and what you can offer.
Throughout the negotiations, regularly ask yourself: is this precisely what I want? Am I making a compromise that will cause problems or losses in my business? Isn’t the other party doing the same? Even if you have not achieved the format or result you originally wanted, it is essential that you feel that the other side hears you and considers your interests. The same thing works on your side.
Save time
Save the interlocutor’s time. I often communicate with different people in text format, and I conclude most partnerships in correspondence. And successful ones start with detailed information about what they want from me and what they can offer, in the very first message from them.
There is no need to ask, “What can we do for you?”, “What would you like?”. There are usually a lot of incoming requests, and you filter them by the first request. If the partner does not know what he can offer, most likely, you will constantly have to extract information and ideas from him and be the main engine of collaboration. It’s exhausting.
Imagine that you are a partner who writes to someone first and offers something ephemeral — would you like to cooperate with yourself? If not, you need to concretize the proposal or think about it longer. Come to negotiations only when you are fully ready: you know everything about the other side and their interests and needs, offer something specific and know what you want to get as a result.
Purpose
What is the final goal of cooperation? If it is not clear why we need all this, there will be nothing to discuss. Even negotiations on a cross-promo — mutual advertising on your list of followers — will end in nothing if you do not know what you want to sell to the partner’s audience and whether your product will suit them. Making a partnership for the sake of partnership is pointless. Are you beneficial to each other? What is needed to achieve maximum efficiency?
I will be happy if these tips help you make your negotiations efficient and pleasant. Feel free to subscribe to receive more business and freelance tips!
