We had a really great event today with a wonderful speaker and over two dozen people in attendance! I walked away with a number of tips that I can use in the future for better negotiations. Michael Shacket, President of Corner Office Consulting provided us with Eight Tips for Successful Negotiations and he did so in an entertaining and enlightening way.
Tip #1: Decide what you REALLY want. Mike advised that sometimes it’s easy to get off in the weeds and forget why you’re negotiating in the first place. Never lose sight of your goal.
Tip #2: It’s nothing personal, it’s business (a quote from the Godfather). Therefore don’t let emotions interfere with your negotiations. The more emotional you are, the more power you lose.
Tip #3: If it ain’t in writing, it ain’t. Meaning all the verbal promises in the world are meaningless. Mike gave the example that there may have been a lot of verbal promises and handshakes between the city of Rochester and Paetec, but when it came down to it, the key aspects of the deal weren’t in writing (such as what happens to us if you pull out?).
Tip #4: There are NO rules: their internal “rules” are not your concern.
Tip #5: Never say No. There are three answers to a question in negotiations, Yes, I’ll look into it, and “I understand” (and you can even combine 2 and 3). Saying no outright may actually hurt the negotiation and relationship process.
Tip #6: KISS – keep it short and simple. Usually the less you say, the better.
Tip #7: Never expect rationality (from the other party). It may seem perfectly rational from their point of view even if it’s not from yours.
Tip #8: Negotiate Progress Payments. Mike likes to get a certain amount upfront (e.g. 20% down) and higher if the second check is going 60+ days out.
Excellent talk overall and I’ll be posting an audio snippet of it, as well as some pix and Mike’s powerpoint.
See you on September 9th!
Click here to see pictures of the event.
-Joanne
Filed under: Procurement Management, AM on PM Summaries | Tagged: negotiation, PAETEC Holding Corp., Paetec | 1 Comment »
