One concern when negotiating is one?s power or more importantly their perception of their power and the power of the other side.? A lot of people inadvertently give away their power before even entering into a negotiation.
One of the ways that I work with my clients is to help them feel confident and that they have power.? Too often they give their power away by thinking the other side has more power than they do.? I hear statements like ?They don?t value what I bring to the agreement?, ?They hold all of the cards?, or ?They are the buyer (or seller) and they have all the power?.? Regardless of the statement, think about this for a moment.? If they did not need your or your product, why are they bothering to talk to your or to negotiate with you?? You have power; you just have to figure out what it is and how to maximize it.
Recently I was working with a client and she felt that the other side did not need them and could get someone else to do the work.? ?I don?t have any leverage.? she complained.? I had reviewed the statement of work and knew what was required to successfully delivering the product.? I asked my client a series of questions.? ?Do you know their business inside and out?? (Yes).? ?Have they used you for the last several years to help them implement their program?? (Yes)? ?Considering the time frame before the first delivery, who can they find to do the work?? (There is no one they can get on board quickly.)? Finally, ?Don?t you think that they need you as much as you need to work for them?? (Yes, maybe I do have some power.)
The most egregious give away of power I have seen was in a recent home buying show where the father let his seven year old make the two million dollar decision of where they would live.? They wanted to please the son even though they passed on several really good deals and fantastic units.? The irony was that half the time the son did not really care about what he was looking at and seemed bored by the whole concept!? I will make no comment on the method of childrearing, but I will say that I moved where my parents wanted to live; the whole decision did not rest on my whim of the moment.? (Okay, maybe there is a little editorial comment here.)? Once? the son had picked a place (after looking at nearly a hundred units), the family did not have any negotiation power.? They had to buy this place.
Before giving up the battle prior to you entering negotiations, take a few minutes to think about your strengths and weaknesses of where you stand in the negotiation.? Why did they pick you?? What is unique about you or your product?? What else could they do if you were not there?? How can you make them reluctant to look elsewhere?? Give yourself that boost in confidence that you are in charge and that they need you!
Don?t give up your power in negotiation either willingly or easily.? You will make better deals if you keep and harness your power.
kurt warner kurt warner ricky williams missouri primary minnesota caucus knowshon moreno knowshon moreno
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.