“Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it.  It is what the client or customer gets out of it.” – Peter Drucker 

Continuation of “Essential Debt Collecting Skills – Negotiating” (Part 2)

‘Since negotiation is the process we use from infancy until just before we die, the issue is not a matter of recognizing that negotiation is a fundamental life skill. The real goal should be to understand how to negotiate effectively to reach wise solutions to all kinds of issues. In ancient times, when two landowners had a disagreement they would hire knights – mercenaries – to ‘wage war’ to determine who was right. Then someone invented lawyers, and for the past thousand years or so, we have been ‘waging law’ to determine who’s right. Negotiation is a means we can use to ‘wage peace’. It can make all of life more pleasant.’

So, listed below are few more basic points of good negotiating.

  • Be prepared to vary your style in negotiation

Negotiation styles vary with the person, their beliefs and skills, as well as the general context in which they occur. There are a number of different styles considered from different viewpoints: belief-based styles, professional, contextual, competitive, cooperative, adversarial styles…  Based on the other negotiating party, be prepared to change/vary your negotiating style quickly for the best result.

(For more in depth understanding read our upcoming ‘The Art of Negotiation’).

 

  • Balance  gains  and share risks

The only good negotiation is when both parties leave happy.  Balance both, the gains and the risks. Share them with acts of give and take (in that order).  When the other party can see that you are happy to give, they will be more prepared to give more than they planned initially.  People are essentially good and most would reciprocate your action.

  • Make your offer simple

Ask a question relevant to the discussion that you know would be answered by YES (the word is magic – it opens people’s minds).  List again all the benefits the other party is getting (the lifestyle, the monetary gain, the time saving).  …. And then tell them what they need to do to get it.   Repeat the same order with the rest of the negotiating.

  • Interact – this is the key to the negotiating success

In negotiating mastering listening and   knowing how to make your point are essentials.  But not knowing how to engage the other party and interact would not bring you to the successful negation.  Know how to answer and ask questions, how to clarify and explain, share your past knowledge and experience, ask for the other’s personal opinion.  People like to see that underneath the business demeanour, there is a warm and friendly mortal that takes a real interest in them!

Watch out for the upcoming Continuation of “Essential Debt Collecting Skills – Negotiating” (Part 4)