Ask Mr. Fix it

How can you create influence and leverage for yourself in negotiations?

Is there a negotiation skills technique to counter the power held by the other side in negotiations?

There is a technique to constantly create authority for yourself whilst at the same time countering the authority of your counterparts. If you consistently use this technique, you will be rewarded with a substantial improvement in the quality of the deals that you close.

You will find many books about the power that can be found in negotiations. Here are some examples of the things that might provide you with some authority, which you would have come across in your sales negotiation training:

* Status & title (you or your position may be held in high regard)

* Physical appearance (you may be very big physically or be deemed to be physically attractive)

* Organisational position (your organisation may be deemed powerful)

Whilst the aforementioned are examples of some of the things that may confer authority on you or your counterpart in deals, without a shadow of a doubt, the single most effective way to creating influence for yourself in negotiations is to create other possibilities. You will never have as much influence in a negotiation as you will have if you are not limited to one choice only. If you can place yourself in a position where all you have to do is choose between alternatives, then you will always ensure that you have both power and leverage in your deals.

The funny thing is that whilst we do think of other options when we negotiate we are inclined to make two key mistakes:

1. We deploy alternative options too late in the negotiation process. Typically, we only start to think about alternatives when we realise that we are in a deadlock or in a tough position. The issue with thinking about alternatives late in the negotiation process is that we could find ourselves in a position where we have no time left and then we may be forced to accept a result we would have preferred to avoid. The key to successfully developing options is to do so even before you commence negotiating.

2. We do not really invest ourselves in developing alternatives. Whilst we may think about alternatives, often we do not put in place specific actions to explore these alternatives. It is very important that once we've recognised possible alternatives that we actively engage in exploring these options. If you want both power and leverage in your negotiations, then you will have no alternative but to explore fully all the alternatives available to you. As a matter of fact, you may even have to invent some alternatives if there seems to be no alternatives available.

Do not forget that successful negotiations and creativity go hand in hand. Here's a word of warning though. Use your negotiation training, because you should carefully think about whether you should let the other side know about the options that you have at your disposal. If you are in a very competitive negotiation environment then there is not much damage in letting your counterpart know that you have many alternatives available. However, if you are in a collaborative environment, it may be best to not openly reveal the options available to you as this may have a counterproductive impact on your relationships.

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