Communication in The Workplace: The skill of Negotiation
One of the most essential skills to learn in the workplace is the art of negotiating. I say art because that’s truly what it is. It takes a lot of practice, attention, and studying to be able to negotiate with someone to get a favorable outcome for yourself.
It’s extremely important to understand what the other person is trying to get out of the deal so that you are able to strategically formulate a plan that works out favorably for both of you. This will make the other person more inclined to understand what you’re saying and work with your requests.
Everyone wants a mutually beneficial business relationship. Understanding that is the first step to understanding how to negotiate well in the business world.
An important thing to understand about negotiating is that not everyone wants to do it.
Like my classmate Kevin Larimore said, “For those who say no, there are twice as many who will say yes. There is no harm in asking and there is no better way to learn that than by starting at a small scale.”
This is a fantastic way to look at a scenario like this. Some people might get discouraged or feel down about themselves if a negotiation doesn’t end up going their way, but like Kevin says the important thing to realize is how many more people are out there to make deals with.
You can’t allow yourself to be discouraged if someone doesn’t want to make a deal. Instead, you let that fuel your fire and double your efforts to find the people who will say yes. The message behind Kevin’s blog post was to maintain a positive attitude and constantly practice your craft until it works for you.
I completely agree with this because in order to be successful in anything, you have to fail to learn so that you can come back twice as hard and succeed.
I have been able to get some firsthand experience in the art of negotiation through my current job. I am a sales consultant for a local copier company, which might just be one of the hardest products to sell in the business market. Everyone has one, and many people don’t want to be bothered with copier salesman constantly calling and emailing them. That’s why it’s so important to be able to negotiate efficiently within this industry.
Just this week, my father (who owns the company) and I had a meeting with the owner of a print shop. At first, he was unconvinced that he would need to purchase a new production machine because his current machine was holding up well and he didn’t know if he could justify the cost.
So, we got to work and came up with a plan on how we could show him that not only will this copier be worth the cost, but it will add value to his organization by improving his quality of work. We negotiated the pricing for the machine and the pricing for service to give him an extremely competitive price.
Both the owner of the print shop and my father and I were able to mutually benefit off of this encounter which is why our negotiation tactic worked. We were able to give him the best machine at the best price, helping him save money while at the same time improving his quality of work. In return, we gained his business and trust and added a new customer to our expanding customer list.
That’s the beautiful thing about negotiating. It is always beneficial for all parties involved because it helps find a middle ground that is appropriate for everyone.
The important thing is to never let a “no” discourage you. Rather, let it encourage you to find the people who want to make mutually beneficial business deals!
Citations
Larimore, K. (2017, September 24). To Begin You Must Start [Web log post]. Retrieved September 27, 2017, from https://medium.com/negotiation-in-the-workplace/to-begin-you-must-start-1a7d1e501f45
