How To Improve Your Deal Negotiation Skills

Everybody wants to learn the art of the deal, and if you get good at negotiating you will have skills that are valuable for many situations, including but not limited to deal-making. One important thing to keep in mind is that good deal-making is a win-win.

It isn’t about you pulling one over on the party you are negotiating with. Rather, it is about creating and coming to mutually beneficial agreements. You should go in with a clear strategy and know what your limits are, and you should be able to see what the strategy and limits of the other party are as well. This takes a lot of skill, practice, and understanding of psychology and body language. Read on for tips on how to get there.

Listen To The Other Party

A negotiation is not one sided, and what the other party has to say is as important as what you have to say, so be sure to listen carefully to what they are saying. You should also be aware of what goes unsaid. You have to understand the other party to get to a win-win endgame, and this requires you to be highly aware of their goals.
Sometimes this involves asking questions, and sometimes it involves picking up on queues. Be confident and don’t doubt your convictions, but be highly aware of how your communication style may differ from the other party, and work to interpret their cues as accurately as possible. Only if you truly understand them can you align your goals with theirs.

Have Clear Limits For Where The Deal Will End Up

All negotiations have some push and pull, and while you may be willing to cede some ground, you have to know where to stop. This means coming into every negotiation mentally prepared for where you will draw the line. Set clear limits for yourself, and be willing to walk away when the deal is going too far in the wrong direction.

While you don’t have to tell them your limits up front, but reveal them when the time is right and communicate what you need clearly. This will make it so that the back and forth between you and the other party will be focused, and showing that you know your terms will instill trust in the other party as well. You can still leave some room for flexibility, but you must know when to call it a day.

Body Language Mirroring

A lot of negotiating is about creating trust and comfort with the other party, and one way to do that is by “mirroring.” To do this, you try to match their body language as well as their tone and attitude. It may sound strange, but this technique is effective as it brings people to the same level and builds rapport. Pay attention to the way the other party is talking. If they are excited, you should show excitement too. If their speech speeds up, accelerate yours as well. Don’t treat a negotiation strictly as an exchange of information. You want the conversation to flow, and behavioral matching is a good way to get there.