Research the field and industry before negotiation

Research your industry. It’s as simple as that. A car dealer knows best about cars. A chemist knows best about chemistry. An art dealer knows best about art. If you’re going to negotiate in a world that isn’t familiar to you, research it. Know the players, know whom to talk to, study the terminology. Do whatever it takes to be the smartest guy or gal in the room.
You should definitely have your personal evaluation of everything being negotiated. You should also have a good idea of how the other party values whatever is being negotiated. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You can even ask such questions of the person you are negotiating with. Asking questions shows the other party that you’re interested and willing to learn.
Be a constant student of the industry or business in which you work. People who have a spent a lifetime with a company bring added value to the company simply because of all the information they have stored in their heads. The more you know about the business environment in general and your company in particular, the better off you are.

Prepare yourself for the other person

When you know the guy you are sitting across the negotiating table, do research about that person. Knowing the the detail about the other person can help you better prepared in your negotiation and you can walk into a room with the comfort and knowledge about what you'll face.

The best case where you have to do research on someone's background is before a job interview. Maybe, you and an that person share a common past experience. When you show that you know a fact or two about the other person usually you could score points with the interviewer. In a negotiation, showing that you have prepared for the other person is also an important icebreaker before they get to the technical nitty-gritty. Besides these obvious benefits, knowledge of the other person let you know what you are against. Is this a reasonable person? Is he a bottom-line person person, or quality aspect is more important for him? Knowing what the other person's values allows you to highlight related aspects in your proposal. It is also important to determine the level of its authority. If the person having to obtain the approval of the people of several levels of the organization, it would be better to provide some written material of your proposal which can be reviewed by his superior.

How to prepare yourself for negotiation?

Preparing yourself for a negotiation means knowing yourself and what you want from yourself. This step takes some reflection and some planning. With adequate preparation, you boost your confidence and your performance during a negotiation. Know your strengths and weaknesses. For example, are you a good listener, or do you ignore what other people have to say?
What is your life plan? In a perfect world, what will you be doing in three years? This long-range thinking about your own life provides a context for every negotiation you have. After you create a vision of your future, create a plan that includes specific steps to turn your vision into reality. Your negotiations are likely to go astray if you don’t prepare your personal, long-range game plan before entering the negotiating room.

You also have to prepare yourself for specific negotiating situations. The better you know your own needs, the more easily you can do this. For example, if you’re not a morning person, don’t let someone schedule a conference call for 7:30 in the morning.

When negotiation is necessary?

Any time you ask someone to say yes or to do something for you or to get out of the way so you can do it, you are negotiating. You negotiate all day long, whether you realize it or not. You are negotiating when you

• Ask your boss for a salary increase
• Ask the cable guy for a more-specific time to show up at your house
• Try to hurry up the cable guy when he is late
• Decide to marry (This is a lifelong negotiation.)
• Try to enforce a curfew with your kids

Negotiating occurs in all aspects of life. It happens in your personal life (marriage, divorce, and parenting), in business, in government, and among nations. For example, at the time of this writing, the United States is in heated negotiations with the Untied Nations council to revise a U.N. resolution on
North Korea for conducting a nuclear test. The resolution may result in strict sanctions against the North Koreans. So a negotiation can be on a global scale or on a personal scale, such as “Honey, please put the seat down.” If you’re attempting to resolve a dispute, agree on a course of action, or bargain for individual advantage, you are in a negotiation, like it or not. The goal is to reach a resolution that is acceptable to you and that will work for both parties. If that’s not possible, try to find such an agreement elsewhere.

About this blog

Negotiation is not a skill that you use once in a while, when you need to do a deal. Negotiation is a way life, to get the most out of your life. You negotiate all day, whether in office, with your spouse or your children. Negotiation skill is not only intended for executives and CEOs, it is important for everybody to maximize their potentials and social success.
With this blog, you will see that you can take a series of steps, large and small, to help them improve you life. How to grow your skills, when you face numerous negotiations in your life.