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If you frequently find yourself on the wrong side of a negotiation deal, then check out these four negotiating tips from Business on Main contributor, Barbara Findlay Schenck. As a business owner, you are constantly negotiating: whether it’s for a higher price for your services, a better agreement with a supplier or even an extra hour of work from an employee. The article offers advice on how to conduct yourself during the discussion as well as some don’ts, such as not using email to negotiate.
I also encourage you to prepare yourself before entering the discussion:
– Think of the outcome you’d like to achieve before walking in. Is there a certain point at which you will walk away, i.e. you won’t accept less than $800 for a design project?
– Research the person you’ll be dealing with to understand what’s important to them. This will ensure that you’ll focus on the right points during your discussion.
– Determine your BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement). It is the course of action that will be taken if an agreement cannot be reached during the current negotiation. It is important to have because it allows you to have options, even if the negotiation does not work out in your favor. To give you an example, say you want to purchase art supplies for your painting business, and you will be negotiating with two different suppliers. After speaking to the first supplier, he agrees to give you the art tools for $350. When you enter your negotiation with the second supplier, your BATNA would be $350 because you know you can get the tools from the first supplier for that price. You wouldn’t agree to pay $400 to the second supplier because you have a better alternative.
Because I really want you to succeed in your negotiations, I’d like to run a quick giveaway. After viewing the article at Business on Main and thinking of the business negotiations you’ve been in, explain in 300 words or less the #1 thing you’ll be doing to make your next negotiation a better one. Feel free to share a story of what worked and didn’t work for you in the past.
Rules of The Business on Main/Entrepreneur Resources “Let’s Make a Deal” Contest
1. Post your “Let’s Make a Deal” story in the comments section of this post and on the MSN Business on Main article page. To get to the comments section, navigate to the gray bar under the article. Click on the current number of comments to expand the section and post away.
2. Identify your post on Business on Main with the words Entrepreneur Resources.
3. The winner will be selected by Entrepreneur Resources.
4. A valid email address must be included in the post here on Entrepreneur Resources (how else can I tell you if you win?).
Note: Prizes will be awarded in the form of a $100 Amazon.com gift card and will mailed out 4-6 weeks after winner notification. Perhaps you can use part of it to purchase a book on negotiation. 🙂
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One winner will be chosen use Random.Org. Winners who I am unable to contact and who don’t claim their prize within 48 hours of being sent their “You’re a winner” email notification will forfeit his or her prize. In the case of no winner due to a prize being forfeited, I will again use Random.org to choose an alternate winner. This giveaway is limited to US residents who are 18 years old and above only.
Deadline:
You have until Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 11:59pm CST to comment and be entered for your chance to win a $100 Amazon.com gift card. I will randomly pick one winner with random.org and announce it here on the Entrepreneur Resources blog the week of December 1, 2011.
Disclaimer: My blog is a part of an online influencer network for Business on Main. I receive incentives to share my views on a monthly basis. The opinions, however, are all mine. 
My favorite tactic is the walk away. I usually go into a negotiation knowing the outcome I want in advance. I also know what’s important to the other side and am prepared to make a counter offer in line with their needs if the first option isn’t agreed to. I only use the walk away tactic if I feel like I have the upper hand in the negotiation. Otherwise, it could back fire.
The #1 thing I’ll do in my next negotiation is to have my BATNA before going in. If an agreement is not reached, and the walk away tactic does not work, then I’ll have alternatives available.