Negotiating Instructions
In business, you constantly have to negotiate prices with both customers and performers.
To upgrade this skill it is best to read and test in practice the book “You can agree on everything” by Gavin Kennedy , and here I want to share a few basic principles.
As I read the book, I wrote myself letters marked with pages and paragraphs of important ideas that you should definitely apply. Accordingly, the following is a list of notes tested on my own practice, and which I consider to be the main ones and use in my negotiations.
Never, never settle for the first price offered.
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Because if the other party immediately agrees to your proposal, then this means:
Because whatever one may say, people love to bargain, and the bargain price is much more pleasant than the possible discomfort from the agreement on the first offer.
Because if you agreed to it immediately, then you should definitely bargain at a better price for you.
It is necessary to detail the scope of work, because Many formulations can have ambiguous meaning and it is on them that you need to play towards the best price: “But is it necessary or is it like this? but! if so, it will be so much, etc.
If you are a performer, then you must immediately enter into negotiations on the cost of improvements.
If you are a customer, you must always politely and perhaps a little bit pityly ask to perform, referring to the importance of these works, and if they answer you reluctantly, then again you must politely ask to perform, referring not only to the importance, but also to the urgency of the work.
If the performer feels that they are asking for more than they originally wanted, then he can do additional work as long as possible. he has a feeling that he does this work for free, and better he will spend this time on work for which he is paid. And if you “run into him” at the same time, then he may just curl up into a ball like a hedgehog and you will not reach him (at least it will be more difficult).
If you ask politely, then it may not be necessary, because if the artist really needs compensation, he will ask for it. If he did not ask for it, but he did everything perfectly, then you can go to the meeting and thank the price within the limits of the one that you would be willing to pay, because This will raise your credibility as a customer. But with this you should not get carried away, because this is a voluntary concession (on concessions a little later), and any voluntary concession will subsequently be used against you (why? just a bit later).
In most cases, regardless of whether the customer is you or the performer, the advantage of the party that gave the first offer, especially in the case when the other side tries to play the game “- how much does it cost? - and how much will you pay?
Never make voluntary concessions.
Any voluntary assignment will be used against you.
If you now make concessions, then in the future you will go to them and you will always bend to them.
Any work is a complex of smaller works and it is necessary to bargain precisely on this complex, it is necessary to detail, it is necessary to simplify / complicate, supplement / exclude, etc. until an agreement is reached with the other party.
Those. any concession on your part should only be in exchange for a concession on the other.
But this does not mean that concessions on the other hand must be answered with concessions from yours. Nobody said that it is not necessary to accept voluntary concessions on the other hand, it is very necessary. Voluntary concession to the other side is a plus in the direction of a better price for you and you don’t have to deprive yourself of this.
The most important thing is to understand the value of your offer for the other side and play on it, because It is for this value, the opponent is ready to pay the highest price, you can throw out all the other points of the negotiations, but you will not get the necessary value anywhere.
Feel, namely, bargain (to detail, simplify / complicate, supplement / exclude, etc.) and follow - what the other side clings to the most.
Never pay attention to the other side.
Because a smart office, fame of a customer (usually a customer applies this technique) and his other superiority over you is only a way to force you to make a concession for the sake of doubtful concessions of the other party.
Doubtful assignments include:
Do not immediately agree to the decision maker, submitted to you not personally by them.
The decision maker is needed to soften the position of your side, since the person with whom you are directly negotiating is forced to submit to your decision maker and you have the feeling that you cannot influence this either. Remember, the decision maker may not be .
Think of your decision maker, and give him a counter-suggestion: “our specialists say that this work ..”.
Require personal communication with the other party.
The most important thing - always prepare for negotiations in advance and remember that your goal is to reach agreements, not to quarrel and argue, but, once again, to reach agreements .
PS: I would be sincerely grateful for suggestions, additions and constructive criticism.
To upgrade this skill it is best to read and test in practice the book “You can agree on everything” by Gavin Kennedy , and here I want to share a few basic principles.
Why exactly these principles are basic?
As I read the book, I wrote myself letters marked with pages and paragraphs of important ideas that you should definitely apply. Accordingly, the following is a list of notes tested on my own practice, and which I consider to be the main ones and use in my negotiations.
First sentence
Never, never settle for the first price offered.
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Why?
Because if the other party immediately agrees to your proposal, then this means:
- or you called the price better than his original expectations (higher than he initially wanted to ask for his work if you are a customer; lower than he would like to pay for this work if you are a performer)
- either here someone is silent
How to be if your price agreed immediately?
- Never offer your price one-on-one, always slightly increase, by ten percent, for example, your price is 200t.r., set 220 (although it’s better to set 230, because 220 is very similar to 10% overpriced and will immediately cause a desire reset it to 200, or even less), but you shouldn't overstate it too much, because you will have to answer for your words (about the subsequent bidding and concessions just below).
- Always offer your opponent a first-time counter offer, even if you are satisfied with his offer.
Why?
Because whatever one may say, people love to bargain, and the bargain price is much more pleasant than the possible discomfort from the agreement on the first offer.
What if you agreed on your first price?
- It is necessary to weed out the option “someone is silent about something,” although this option also partially falls into the option “you called the price better than expected,” because You may not understand each other in the scope of work.
- If this is so, then it is necessary to detail and clarify the complex and perhaps not obvious stages of work: if you are the customer, then clarify to the performer those moments where, do you think, he could misunderstand the requirements, if the performer, then likewise clarify the correctness of your understanding of difficult stages works
- If this option is due to the fact that the true goal is not a work under discussion, but, for example, the contractor wants to get an advance and disappear, receive important input documents and also disappear, etc., then you need to act very carefully, not to make an advance payment (if the counterparty if there is trust, this is not the case), but split into smaller stages and pay for the performance of each; sign the NDA if you give away important documents; etc., depending on the specific situation.
- It is necessary to probe the expected price. To do this, you first need to understand the following: your first sentence, to which you agreed, does not mean the final one.
Why?
Because if you agreed to it immediately, then you should definitely bargain at a better price for you.
How to change the first sentence to which you agreed, in the best direction for you?
It is necessary to detail the scope of work, because Many formulations can have ambiguous meaning and it is on them that you need to play towards the best price: “But is it necessary or is it like this? but! if so, it will be so much, etc.
How to be if during the execution of the work "got out" additional work?
If you are a performer, then you must immediately enter into negotiations on the cost of improvements.
If you are a customer, you must always politely and perhaps a little bit pityly ask to perform, referring to the importance of these works, and if they answer you reluctantly, then again you must politely ask to perform, referring not only to the importance, but also to the urgency of the work.
Why necessarily politely?
If the performer feels that they are asking for more than they originally wanted, then he can do additional work as long as possible. he has a feeling that he does this work for free, and better he will spend this time on work for which he is paid. And if you “run into him” at the same time, then he may just curl up into a ball like a hedgehog and you will not reach him (at least it will be more difficult).
Why not immediately offer a price for additional work?
If you ask politely, then it may not be necessary, because if the artist really needs compensation, he will ask for it. If he did not ask for it, but he did everything perfectly, then you can go to the meeting and thank the price within the limits of the one that you would be willing to pay, because This will raise your credibility as a customer. But with this you should not get carried away, because this is a voluntary concession (on concessions a little later), and any voluntary concession will subsequently be used against you (why? just a bit later).
And who, in principle, should make the first sentence?
In most cases, regardless of whether the customer is you or the performer, the advantage of the party that gave the first offer, especially in the case when the other side tries to play the game “- how much does it cost? - and how much will you pay?
Why?
- Do you have a chance to get to the right point
- You have the opportunity to shock your opponent, and thereby change his view of his original price.
Bidding and concessions
Never make voluntary concessions.
Why?
Any voluntary assignment will be used against you.
Why?
If you now make concessions, then in the future you will go to them and you will always bend to them.
How to bargain?
Any work is a complex of smaller works and it is necessary to bargain precisely on this complex, it is necessary to detail, it is necessary to simplify / complicate, supplement / exclude, etc. until an agreement is reached with the other party.
Those. any concession on your part should only be in exchange for a concession on the other.
But this does not mean that concessions on the other hand must be answered with concessions from yours. Nobody said that it is not necessary to accept voluntary concessions on the other hand, it is very necessary. Voluntary concession to the other side is a plus in the direction of a better price for you and you don’t have to deprive yourself of this.
What is the most important thing in the negotiations?
The most important thing is to understand the value of your offer for the other side and play on it, because It is for this value, the opponent is ready to pay the highest price, you can throw out all the other points of the negotiations, but you will not get the necessary value anywhere.
How to understand the true value of the other side?
Feel, namely, bargain (to detail, simplify / complicate, supplement / exclude, etc.) and follow - what the other side clings to the most.
Props
Never pay attention to the other side.
Why?
Because a smart office, fame of a customer (usually a customer applies this technique) and his other superiority over you is only a way to force you to make a concession for the sake of doubtful concessions of the other party.
Doubtful assignments include:
- future projects
- work with a well-known company
- opportunity to meet important people
- and other things not directly related to the essence of the current work
Decision Maker (DM)
Do not immediately agree to the decision maker, submitted to you not personally by them.
Why?
The decision maker is needed to soften the position of your side, since the person with whom you are directly negotiating is forced to submit to your decision maker and you have the feeling that you cannot influence this either. Remember, the decision maker may not be .
How to respond to the decision maker?
Think of your decision maker, and give him a counter-suggestion: “our specialists say that this work ..”.
Require personal communication with the other party.
Conclusion
The most important thing - always prepare for negotiations in advance and remember that your goal is to reach agreements, not to quarrel and argue, but, once again, to reach agreements .
PS: I would be sincerely grateful for suggestions, additions and constructive criticism.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/147490/
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