Negotiations Training

Turn on Your Negotiations Radar:
Spotting Negotiations

Are you aware of how often you negotiate? If you're like most people, you probably negotiate much more often than you realize. In fact, it's possible you negotiated today and you weren't even aware of it. You may have even been taken to the proverbial cleaners without realizing what happened to you.

We hear it all the time... "I don't need to brush up on my negotiating skills. I never negotiate. That's for the bigwigs to handle." Not so... if you are in regular contact with other people, regardless of whether you are at work or not, you are a regular negotiator. How can that be? Let's think about that for a second. Do you ever have a difference of opinion with your spouse or your children about something around the house? Have you ever had a situation where you called a manager at a restaurant to resolve a situation? Do you ever find yourself trying to get a little extra time to work on a project? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you have negotiated.

Unfortunately, most people overlook the ordinary and sometimes mundane as negotiations. What we all have to realize is that when we seek to come to an agreement on an issue that serves our interests, we are negotiating. We recommend that you start looking at the "world" a little differently to be able to recognize when you are in a negotiation. When you are aware of these situations, you can make better use of the skills we teach. Rather than allowing others to railroad you into what they want you to do, you can focus on looking for outcomes that are of benefit to all those involved.

Think about some of the following typical situations, each of which is a negotiation in and of itself:

* Meeting with your manager to receive more time to work on a project
* Discussing with your family where to go on a family vacation
* Talking to a contractor about a reasonably completion date for a project
* Arranging delivery for a new living room set purchased at a department store
* Meeting with a new employer to work out a favorable salary
* Discussing time off with your manager
* Arranging an interdepartmental meeting to ask for additional consultants on a deployment project
* Working with fellow volunteers to determine the next date for a non-profit committee meeting
* Purchasing a new refrigerator from a home warehouse store
* Asking a dealership to throw in some options in order to make a purchase
* Determining which of your employees will focus on specific activities to meet quarterly objectives

Think about some other examples from your daily life. By going through a mental exercise of what might qualify as a negotiation, you will become better at spotting negotiating opportunities. Once your awareness is increased, you will have the ability to utilize your skills to negotiate better outcomes.