4 Negotiation Skills to Help You Influence Anyone
The ability to negotiate effectively can have a huge effect in both your personal and professional life. It can yield to faster promotions at work and better perks and benefits. More importantly, however, being a strong influencer can help foster prosperous relationships with other people. Not everyone is born with the right set of negotiation skills and tactics, though. Fortunately, it’s easy to learn and master the related skills, starting with these four:
Flinch
Flinching may seem like a counterintuitive reaction when negotiating with other people, specifically salesmen but it’s one of the oldest negotiation techniques. Flinching is a discernible reaction to an offer during in-person negotiations. The goal is to make the other party feel awkward or tense about the price they’ve offered you. Giving off a shocked response can lead them to immediately offer a lower rate without first thinking it through or try and justify their first offer, which throws them off their negotiator game.
Be the Most Informed Person
Between you and the other person, be the one with the most market research and information in hand. The person who is most informed usually drives the conversation. Ask the other person specific questions that can be difficult to answer and/or defend. For instance, if you are dealing with a car salesman or a mortgage lender, ask about declining interest rates on car or house loans. Again, this will force them to either vindicate their first offer or entertain your counteroffer. As for influencing friends or regular folks, being knowledgeable on a subject makes you look trustworthy and an authority figure, which makes it easier to influence anyone.
Aim for the Win-Win Solution
It’s easy to influence people if you show them that there’s also something they can gain from following you. A win-lose situation wherein you’re the only one making any money or progressing your career is not the best long-term negotiation skill to master, not to mention it makes you look selfish. By finding a win-win solution to any problem or situation, you build trust and mutual respect with other people, which ultimately allows you to influence them since they believe that you are also looking out for them.
Work on Posture and Mannerism
Imagine negotiating with someone who nail-bites and is slouched versus someone wearing a power suit and struts confidently to firmly shake your hands. Who would most likely influence you into buying their product or service? The latter of course. People respond to authority and confidence. Work on how you walk, talk, and act around other people.
Negotiating is an art form that takes time to master and wield effectively. Keep in mind, however, that it should not be used selfishly. Find a way wherein you can influence people and get what you want while also helping others rise.