In any negotiation, whether you're looking to buy a car or asking for a raise, it's important to have a plan. Going in with guns blazing and making demands will just turn the other person off and make them less likely to want to work with you. Having a clear idea of what you want and how you're going to get there is how the pros handle it. Here are some tips on how to create a winning negotiating strategy.

Define Your Boundaries Ahead Of Time

We can’t stress this enough: Write down your stretch, target, and walkaway goals ahead of time. If you do this, you enter the room with a major advantage. When the adrenaline kicks in and you match wits with the other party, having these written down helps clarify what you're aiming for and allows you to be flexible from that point on. Remember, the stretch goal is where an agreement ideally leads. It’s your best possible scenario. The target goal is a point that you’d be happy reaching after any prolonged negotiations. But the walkaway point is just as important; when it's used right, it can enable both sides of a negotiation to come to terms that are beneficial for everyone. So stretch high and set your boundaries early!

Choose Your Concession Strategies Ahead Of Time

Alright, let's talk about concession strategies! Now, negotiations can be a tricky business, and sometimes you gotta give a little to get a little. That's where concession strategies come in.

A concession strategy is basically a plan for how much and when to give in to the other party during a negotiation. Yes, not just how much. But WHEN. So, before you start handing out concessions left and right, it's important to remember that concessions should be used wisely. You don't want to give in too much or too soon and weaken your position. So, set your boundaries and have a clear idea of what you're willing to concede and what you're not before you start negotiating.

Now, there are different types of concession strategies you can use depending on your goals and the situation at hand. Here’s just a few:

• The Ice Cream Cone Strategy: While fully aware of your stretch, target, and walkaway, start off with a large concession and with each round of negotiation, offer a smaller and smaller concession. By the time you offer a miniscule concession, the party senses that you have reached the end of your rope. For all they know, they have bested you in this battle of wits. But you’ll know that you landed well ahead of your target goal.

• The Martini Strategy is about mixing smaller and larger concessions together, but generally holding firm to show the other party you mean business. Don't budge an inch until you get a sense of their resolve. Once you've tested the waters, you can start making concessions as needed to keep the negotiation moving forward.

• The Wrecking ball is in many ways the opposite of The Ice Cream Cone. If you're feeling bold and brash, it just might work for you. Let's say you state your opening demand and make no concessions. Then, when the other party offers a concession, you don't give an inch - you reiterate your opening demand and offer nothing in return. You keep repeating this pattern, holding your ground and refusing to budge, until finally, at the very end, you concede everything all at once. And of course, you haven’t dropped below your target goal. It was all planned.

Prepare For Common Objections

We absolutely want you to be a good listener during any negotiations you enter, but please don’t respond to the other party with, "Huh, that's a good point." or "I didn't think about that!" Have counterarguments ready to go and stick with your plan.

Practice!

If you're one of those people that worry about negotiations, take a deep breath and just remember to practice! Going into negotiations takes confidence, so one of the best ways to prepare is by doing some practice rounds. Whether alone or with someone else, speaking out loud and articulating your interests will help greatly. So turn off Netflix and get to practicing - take full advantage of this one chance you have!

Walking Away is a WIN.

The most successful deal is one that comes with mutual benefit for all parties involved. If the negotiations reach an impasse and the terms just aren't in your favor any longer, don't let yourself be railroaded - it's perfectly acceptable to walk away from the table. That’s a win.

For any workshops on negotiations, please email adam@salesfirstrecruiting.com and ask for help!