Negotiation looks like this: Let’s sit. Let’s talk and listen. Let’s see if we can figure this out together. There will be give and take. Together we can find a win for you and a win for me.
It’s not a fight or manipulation. It’s just a conversation…or a dance.
When you dance with a negotiation partner, it takes all of you — your guts, eyes and heart.
1. The guts — the conviction and confidence that you can effect change by asking for it. To ask is to be vulnerable. They can say no, and you have to be okay with it and open to diagnosing that no. So get gutsy. Take courage.
2. The eyes seeing the vision of shared success. You see it for yourself clearly before you paint it in the mind of your negotiation partner. Paint your future potential with brushstrokes (or business results, benchmark reports, testimonials or maybe a literal picture) that resonate with their dreams and desires.
3. The heart, container of human emotions, plays a part too. A calm and confident negotiator puts the other side at ease. She makes them feel respected and heard. She allays fears that sit at the root of their objections. Yet, all the same, she’s ready to walk away if the deal isn’t right.
She’s fully present and aware of her own agency in this negotiation. This makes her a formidable negotiator.
Ready to own your negotiation prowess?
Build your asking muscle. Learn to negotiate.
If in-person training is your style, there are two events I’d love to share with you:
– Get the Guts to Negotiate with Lady Boss on the evening of Tuesday, April 21 at Etsy HQ in Brooklyn
– The Art of the Ask with Vital Voice Training, a special half-day workshop on speaking up with authority, connecting authentically and asking fearlessly.