“I’d like to add that negotiating is not something to be avoided or feared – it’s an everyday part of life.” – Leigh Steinberg
Continuation of “Essential Debt Collecting Skills – Negotiating” (Part 1) 
Negotiation is a rather complex interaction. Capturing and controlling all its complexity is a very difficult task that requires knowledge, understanding and lots of practice. Below are some of the essentials of negotiating:
- Know what you are trying to achieve
Having a clearly defined goal before you start the process of negotiation is a must. At first, it really helps if you write it down and keep it somehow visible for yourself. Later, when you get more practice and experience this would come naturally as the first step.
- Know the value of the item/service being negotiated
It is easy to lose perspective in the process of negotiating if you do not know the real value of the item/service. Find this out prior to the start of the negotiation.
- Allow the other party to make the opening offer
By allowing the other side to start the negotiating process and finding out early their best outcome you will be in a stronger position to quickly adjust your strategy to get to your negotiating goal.
- Get inside the other party’s head
By listening you will gain the power. Pay attention to the words the other party is using and try to copy the most used ones. Copying the other party’s body language, tone of voice and the words is a well known technique to increase the bonding.
- Identify the effect of the partner’s emotions
Emotions contribute to negotiation processes by signaling what one feels and thinks and can thus prevent the other party from engaging in destructive behaviors and to indicate what steps should be taken next. Watch for signals to keep the negotiating in the same way, pay attention to specific points that mental or behavioral adjustments are needed.
Watch out for the upcoming Continuation of “Essential Debt Collecting Skills – Negotiating” (Part 3)