Ask an Expert: Got game? Hone your negotiation skills
— -- Q: I need to re-negotiate a contract with a vendor. Any words of wisdom? Should I hire a lawyer? — Allie
A: Good negotiation skills are vital to small business people because it is something we use every day. Whether it is asking a vendor to lower a price or getting a potential customer to sign on the 'ol dotted line, negotiations are part and parcel of small business life.
Indeed, as my brother Larry is wont to say, "Everything is negotiable."
No, I doubt you need a lawyer to do your negotiating; not only might that be cost-prohibitive, but it would take some of the fun out of the game. If you do not see negotiating as a game, then pull up a chair for Lesson One: Don't take it too seriously, and most certainly, don't take it personally. It is just a game.
The first step then in any negotiation occurs ahead of the game: Decide what tack you will want to take. It is conventional wisdom that one should strive for a win-win outcome. In a win-win, you try and get as much of what you want while also trying to help the other guy get what he wants (or at least needs).
But as is often is the case with the conventional wisdom, it is not always right. Now, I am not saying that win-win negotiations and results are not good things; in the right circumstances, they are great. But not always.
If you have extra leverage, if you are über-competitive, if singing Kumbaya together is not your style, then don't worry about the win-win — go for it. Just know that tough win-lose negotiations often leave a bad taste in people's mouths that does not go away quickly.
OK, so once you have decided upon your strategy, then it is time to think about your tactics:
Use questions to obtain undisclosed information:When you wander onto a car lot, what is the first thing the car salesman does? He asks a series of seemingly mundane questions such as: What are you looking for and how much would you like to spend? Far from being humdrum, questions actually help the salesman craft his pitch to you.
