Negotiation Tips from a Professional Mediator
Monster Contributing Writer
Good negotiation skills have a huge impact on your career -- whether you're a salesperson making deals or an entry-level employee trying to get good assignments or cube neighbors to quiet down.
"Most people think of negotiation only when they need to get something more," says Tammy Lenski, a professional mediator who helps universities and businesses nationwide with conflict management. "The reality is that at work, pretty much every conversation is a negotiation. You're negotiating deadlines, the quality level, what might be taken off your plate to make room for this priority project and what benefit you might get for taking on that project. The minute you walk into the workplace in the morning, you're negotiating."
Lenski says big negotiation mistakes are common -- people either are too confrontational or cave in because they're afraid to ask some basic questions. "If people think of a negotiation more as a conversation than something that needs to be won, they'll do much better," she adds.
Here are four of Lenski's tips on becoming a good negotiator -- and improving your situation at work:
1. Tactic Is Dictated by Situation
Playing hardball in the office can backfire when you need to work with your coworkers every day. "You have an ongoing relationship with these folks, and you're trying to not leave debris," Lenski says. "People need to stop thinking about negotiating as getting more of what I need, which means getting less of what you need."
Instead, find out the other person's needs, and try to come to a conclusion that helps both of you. "The best negotiating is using the really good human relation skills in an effective way," Lenski says. "It isn't about pushing or convincing or manipulating the other person. It's about having them figure out what they want and how you can help them get it."
2. Ask Good Questions
In negotiations, you know what you want. But you also need to find out what the other side wants in return. It's most efficient if you just ask openly.
When starting her private practice 10 years ago, Lenski presented her fee to provide conflict-management services to a company in turmoil. The department head asked her to slash her price 20 percent. Lenski said this was her bottom-line number, but the department head said everything is negotiable.
Lenski then asked the essential question: "Why do you believe everything is negotiable?" The department head explained the head of finance would ask if she bargained and got a good deal. At that point, Lenski crossed out the original fee and wrote a new one that was about 25 percent higher. "Will this work?" she asked.
The department head said, "Well, I'll have to offer you 20 percent less than that." And they had a deal.
You won't always get such a clear-cut answer, but it only strengthens your case if you can find out about the other person's goals.
3. Deal with Issues Up Front
Instead of keeping quiet and thus becoming resentful, "negotiating is figuring out how to raise the things that are bothering you so they can be sorted out," Lenski says.
There are gender-based differences in negotiation. "Many women are not very good at asking, or when they are made an offer, they tend to think that they have to say yes or no," Lenski says. "But men tend to think of it as the opening volley in a negotiating experience."
Instead of just thinking about what might make it difficult to accomplish your goal, talk with your boss about those issues right away. "It's much more helpful in general to think about under what conditions you might make it possible, and how can you help me do that," Lenski says.
Lenski was recently asked to speak at a conference, and the university offered to pay her travel expenses but not conference fees and hotel room. She discovered a colleague who was manning a nearby conference booth was getting all her expenses paid by another college department. Instead of having hard feelings, Lenski approached the dean. "Aren't I doing as much to get the college's name out there?" she asked. When she pointed out the discrepancy, he offered to pay her way as well.
People are too often afraid to have those difficult conversations, bottling up their resentment. "If I hadn't asked and would have gone home and fretted, I wouldn't have had the money," she says.
4. Do the Right Kind of Homework
Lenski says people tend to waste a lot of time worrying about scary negotiation scenarios. "They go into it thinking about all the ways it can go wrong," she says, even though the negotiation generally turns out much better than expected. "Instead, they should spend their time thinking of it from the perspective of the other person. What would make them want to join with you to figure things out? Not what will make them change their mind, but what will make them want to sort this out with me. Invite them into joint problem-solving."
Not only does this tactic lead to more successful negotiations, but your colleagues will also have a better opinion of you. "You have to keep seeing most of the folks in the workplace, and they can have a lot of input on whether you move up," Lenski says. "You want to approach them in ways that you're seen as a team player."
Monster Contributing Writer
who negotiate generally earn much more than those who don't. And a well-thought-out negotiation makes you look like a stronger candidate -- and employee.
"We found that those people who attempted to negotiate their salary in a constructive way are perceived as more favorable than those who didn't negotiate at all, because they were demonstrating the skills the company wanted to hire them for," says Robin Pinkley, coauthor of Get Paid What You're Worth and an associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business.
You can start laying the groundwork for your salary negotiation even before the first interview. Here's a step-by-step guide:
During the Interview Process
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Do Your Research: Before the interview, learn about the company's salary ranges and benefits as well as industry salary ranges. Also learn about the company, its competition and the industry. Then think about what you want from the job, both in terms of salary and benefits, as well as opportunity and upward mobility, Pinkley says. This information will become valuable during the interview and salary negotiation.
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Don't Talk Turkey Too Early: "You never win by talking about money early on," says Lee Miller, author of UP: Influence, Power and the U Perspective -- The Art of Getting What You Want. "The time to talk about money is when they've fallen in love with you." Before that, you're just one of many easily dismissed candidates. But once the employer has decided you're right for the job, "it becomes an issue of, ‘how are we going to make this happen?'" Miller says. -
Avoid the Salary Requirements Trap: Pinkley tells people to say: "I completely understand why this is an important issue -- you're trying to determine who you want to continue in this process, and it doesn't make much sense to pursue candidates you aren't going to get. Secondly, I know that the tendency is for people to lowball their salary range, because they don't want to get out of the pool. My preference is to figure out, independent of these issues, the degree to which there is a good fit here and the extent to which I can bring value to this organization and the extent to which I'm going to be fulfilled and involved and committed to this position. I suggest we wait to have the salary conversation until you're prepared to make an offer."
If they still want a number, leverage your research to talk industry-standard ranges, not specific numbers.
At Time of Offer
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Strike First: Try to mention a specific salary before the employer does. This will start the negotiations in your ballpark. "The whole negotiation is based on that first offer," Pinkley says.
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Don't Commit Too Quickly: The employer often offers the job and salary simultaneously. Never say yes right away -- even if you like the offer. "I would always come back and try to get more," Pinkley says. Tell them you'll give them an answer within a certain time frame.
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Make Them Jealous: If you've been interviewing for other jobs, call those prospective employers, tell them about your offer, and see if they can speed up the interview process -- or make you an offer. Knowing you have another offer will make you more attractive to them.
When it's time to answer the first employer, mention the other employers' interest to help boost your value. But don't make up offers. It's easy to check, and the interest alone will help you look good.
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Articulate Your Expectations: Tell the employer what you want from the job, both in terms of salary as well as benefits and opportunity. "It may be time off, flexibility about where you work, autonomy or ownership over a particular area, it may be your title -- whatever has a perceived value to you," says Joyce Gioia, president of the Herman Group, a think tank of management consultants and futurists.
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Negotiate Extras: If the employer can't offer you the salary you want, think about other valuable options that might not cost as much. Miller always recommends asking for education, which can make a big difference in your long-term marketability.
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Quantify Your Value and Performance: Mention your value in quantifiable terms, such as how much money you saved your company and how your projects increased revenues by X thousands of dollars, Gioia says. Then tell them specifically how valuable you expect to be in your new job.
You also can add a few contingencies showing your confidence in your performance. You could ask the employer to give you a salary review after six months rather than a year or for a year-end bonus if you make a certain amount of money. "It shows that you believe in yourself and are committed to bringing what you say you can do," Pinkley says. "You believe you are going to bring significant value to the organization.
Three Steps to Making Smarter Counteroffers
In every negotiation, the time comes when the other side puts an offer on the table. At that point, the ball is in your court. Unless you want to accept that offer or walk away from the table, you have to put forth a counteroffer.
You will hear all kinds of advice for doing this, and much of that advice is not particularly useful. For example, a friend might tell you, "Always ask for 20 percent more than you will settle for. You can always retreat." A colleague might say, "Always add 10 percent to what they offer. Employers are always trying to lowball you."
While these tactics may work a few times, they have significant flaws. Not only do they lead you to throw out arbitrary figures, but those figures may not be related to what you really want or need from the negotiation.
Here is some practical advice that can help you develop counteroffers that achieve your goals.
1. Get Prepared
Before the negotiation begins, take the time to research standard compensation for the position. Establish a reasonable range for salary, a typical benefits package and common additional compensation (e.g., stock options, annual bonus, performance bonus). This work makes it possible for you to know the range in which any satisfactory agreement has to fall.
Then, from those general points, determine the most favorable compensation package for you. You should be able to justify that package given your field, experience, expertise and credentials.
Make sure this package addresses your real needs -- you will likely have trouble asking for more later if you overlook something. This package is your counteroffer.
2. Be Firm
Most negotiators make the mistake of putting out an arbitrary position as their counteroffer, then having to retreat from it because they cannot justify it or because they face a hostile reaction. Avoid this pitfall by selecting a reasonable and appropriate counteroffer -- one based on the data you gathered in your research -- and staying there until the other side offers a persuasive reason for you to move.
By "persuasive," I mean an argument based on additional data or information that justifies a different figure or package than you had developed. For example, an employer might say, "I know that some of our competitors are offering higher salary figures. However, they are much larger than we are, and they expect you to work much longer hours for bigger clients. We offer a salary that allows you to have a reasonable work life and really have an impact on smaller companies."
An example of an unpersuasive argument would be, "Your figure is too high. We can't do that."
3. Be Wise
Keep the big picture in mind. Your goal in the negotiation is to reach an agreement that satisfies your interests, not to win a battle between positions. If your counteroffer is not moving you closer to an agreement, do not hunker down and defend it to the death.
Instead, think of another proposal that addresses your needs and concerns and is supported by data, and put that out as another offer. Use your energy to generate solutions, not to fight battles.
Negotiation is all about exchanging ideas, possible solutions and information. Offers and counteroffers are the typical steps in this dance. When you counteroffer, do so based on rigorous preparation and thinking. If you do, you will find yourself much more effective, and much more relaxed.
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