3 Negotiation Tips For Women In Business

3 Negotiation Tips For Women In Business

Posted by Vicki Donlan on Thu, Jan 17, 2013 @ 10:05 AM

Every day millions of men and women around the world negotiate for what they want at home, at work, and in the community. We negotiate for goods, for services, for time, for love, and particularly, for money. Women actually negotiate more than men as they are the majority caretakers for children, as well as, elder family members. So why is it women get such a bad rap as being good at negotiation?

The answer is many women become uncomfortable when the negotiation as they see it is all about MONEY!

The fact is most negotiations are not about money. Money (price) just happens to be the universal starting point for a business negotiation. For example, you want to buy a new house and the one you have your eye on is $200,000 over your budget. Rather than finding out why the house is for sale, you decide not to even look at it as it is out of your price range. Stop and think about this!

If you were selling your house because you had been transferred and needed to move ASAP, you would call a real estate broker and get a fair market value for the property. The house/property would be listed for $X. However, your situation would not be listed (of course not). A buyer with the right terms and conditions might very well supercede the buyer willing to pay full price. Why? Because price in this circumstance is not the driving motivation for the sale.

Women in business have to negotiate every day with employees, vendors and customers. We have to negotiate time, terms, conditions, and, yes, MONEY. As a business coach, working with women entrepreneurs, I have witnessed time and time again my client's expertise in negotiating time and terms, but money and price often is an obstacle.

These same women successfully negotiate bedtime, nights out, chores and a multitude of other household issues, but get stymied adjudicating financial transactions.

Here are 3 tips to better negotiate every day money transactions for women in business:

(1) Listen carefully (sometimes what you want will be said between the lines)

What is actually most important to the person you are negotiating with? The more information you have the more likely you will be able to make a successful deal. Understand most people start at a price that is more than they think they can get. It seems to be built in to us to ask for the moon and settle for a star. Let the person you are negotiating with know that the price is too high by using body language - act shocked or surprised by stepping back when the price is spoken.

(2) Do your homework and know your limits - stick to them

You can't negotiate successfully if you don't really know what you want. Just as the the person you are negotiating with has an agenda so should you. What is most important to you in a successful transaction? Is it really money or is it something else? I have worked with clients who go into employee salary negotiations with such varying goals that it is no wonder they are frustrated with themselves and the negotiation process when they come out paying much more to an employee than they intended. Whose fault is that? Clearly, not the employee's fault for asking for what (s)he wants. Every negotiation needs to be entered into with an honest validation of each person's goals. Take one issue at a time and find the common denominators for both participants. There should be some areas of agreement in every negotiation - find them and communicate them. Avoid ultimatums - they rarely work in negotiations.

(3) Don't Be Afraid To Walk Away (SAY NO)

In every negotiation you have the power to walk away - use it if necessary. For example, I have a long term client who hates the proposal process in her business. She realizes she must price her service accordingly to make sure she can deliver her best work and pay her vendors what they require. Each year she has one client who consistently balks at her price and beats her down to a price that is unworkable for her business. We work on her negotiation technique before each meeting with this client. Recently, it has become clear that this client enjoys his ability to over power my client and hold her hostage. In this year's proposal, my client added an addendum: "Due to the long term relationship between our firms, we want to offer you a 15% discount to show our appreciation for your business. This year's rate of $$$$$ is effective if signed on or before 12/31/12. Proposals not signed by that date will not be considered for renewal for 2013. Thank you."

She was able to stand her ground and let the client know she was no longer interested in a no win game. BTW - the client signed - no negotiation or beat down necessary.

Successful negotiation is possible in almost every situation if you focus your attention on what the person you are negotiating with REALLY wants rather than what YOU want. Asking open-ended questions helps you get the information you need to keep the conversation directed at what outcome the other person will agree on.

So women in business PLEASE don't let money and price scare you away from negotiations. Just pretend you are negotiating with a child and allow the other person to talk and talk and talk and talk and almost wear themselves out sharing why they need or want whatever it is. Let them know they have been heard and respected and then, and only then, respond with some mutual agreement where you both can declare victory or at least begin negotiations from a place of equal value.

Source: http://www.vickidonlan.com/Womens-Business-Blog/bid/85932/3-Negotiation-Tips-For-Women-In-Business

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