6 Things You Must Know Before Entering a Negotiation

Most people react one of two ways when entering a negotiation. You’re either terrified and stress about the outcome or you love negotiations and thrive during them. Unfortunately, most people get stressed because they’re unprepared for the negotiation. The proper preparation could be the difference of you feeling victorious after the deal or feeling like you got screwed. Getting screwed could put you in over your head so much that you might even have to declare bankruptcy. Hopefully it never comes to that point but when declaring bankruptcy it’s always best to do it Michael Scott style...

It might not be the most effective way to do it but it’s by far the most stylish. In all seriousness negotiating is not as bad as it seems. When I bought my car I felt like it was wrong to negotiate so I got completely screwed. I’m talking I overpaid by probably about $5000. It was horrible. I did everything wrong. But I learned a great deal from it! You might feel like negotiating is wrong as well because it’s a common feeling people get. It’s really not though. It’s completely normal to negotiate.

Now by this point you’re probably wondering why you should listen to this guy about negotiating if he’s been screwed over. Well it’s simple. People change and that was before my career in sales. Since the car ordeal I’ve become extremely versed in negotiating deals with clients, sales in general, psychology of sales, negotiating contracts/salaries, etc. I am by no means a guru but I’ve had a ton of success with even the most stubborn of negotiators. All of these were happening on a daily basis.

The mentioned above experiences combined with hundreds of hours of studying tactics and techniques helped me gain confidence and success in my abilities. A few of my accomplishments resulted in me making over six figures, growing the business I was managing 24.4%, having the single best year in company history for revenue, and helping my sales team make more than they ever thought possible. And were talking a business where highly successful salespeople earned around $80,000 a year. Negotiating helped skyrocket each and every one of these results.

One of the main contributions to my team and I’s success was perfecting our sales process. I highly recommend developing a killer sales process (you can check out mine here). Next, having a full understanding of the negotiation process is super important. We became super confident in the product we were selling, customers, our industry, and more importantly ourselves. Being an expert in your field will give you a competitive edge over everyone else because hardly anyone goes above and beyond these days. All of these will lead to awesome results and success in your industry and business. It’ll have you living like a king… or at least give you some confidence like Connor McGregor.

6 Things You Must Know Before Entering a Negotiation

You could be looking to enhance your negotiation skills to save you thousands of dollars throughout your life, to negotiate a better salary, or because your job requires strong negotiation skills. Whatever the case may be, having an arsenal of negotiation tactics is going to benefit you now or later in life. Everyone faces negotiations in their life. Some are better at it than others. Those people that are better at it definitely get their way more. I don’t know about you but I’m super competitive and always want to get my way.

First, I recommend versing yourself on why people make decisions in the first place. I break down why people buy in my post here. Next, you have to stop thinking that negotiating is wrong or that you’re being a burden. You’re not a burden and it’s completely normal! There are many different ways to increase your skills on negotiating but I found these 6 to be the most beneficial:

1. Everything is negotiable. Everything. Even if you’re 100% sure it’s not you still need to ask for a better price on whatever it is you’re buying or negotiating on. Just say you can’t make a decision with that current price or offer. Ask if it’ll be cheaper in the near future if it’s a corporation and they claim they can’t negotiate. The truth is their manager might not be able to but their manager can, so ask to meet the head honcho in charge and you’ll get farther. Cut out the middleman.
2. No one’s ever going to give you their last dollar. This is super important and very hard to grasp. If you’re trying to get a customer to pay a higher price or trying to get a salary bump you need to understand that they do have more money to give. Even if they say they don’t they do, but they just don’t want to give you it. I promise you that. Think about this. If you were on your last few dollars what would you spend them on? You’d spend it on food, shelter, or things to get you more money like gas to get you to work. Also, do you think another couple thousand dollars in your salary is going to break a company? I would for sure hope not and if it would you probably don’t want to work there! So if someone says they’re out of money they’re most likely lying.
3. Ask for more and you get more. The reason you don’t get paid more or don’t get better deals on things is because you aren’t asking for more. You need to persist. And Persist. And persist one more time. Determine what you’re worth or what you’ll pay for something and get that. Just be sure to shoot over or under that initial mark you actually want to be at because sales and business is all about meeting in the middle. It took my company three offers before they offered me one that I liked. If a consumer or company sold on something or you then they’ll pay more. How much more is up to you.
4. Get creative. Understand that price isn’t the only thing you can negotiate with. Negotiate for better packages, freebies, vacation time, allowances, bonuses based on performance, etc. That’s how I was able to make six figures. My company didn’t think I would do so well in my position and they bet against me. I knew they were foolish to do so because I knew I would perform at high levels. Overall, trust in your ability to bust your ass and get results. WARNING: this strategy will take a crazy amount of work and relentlessness. Are you prepared for that?
5. Be prepared to walk. If whoever you’re negotiating with isn’t budging and you don’t feel good about the deal, be prepared to walk. People will either get serious or you leave and someone else can earn your business. Granted this’ll take more time and effort but if it equates to you being happier it’s worth it in the long run.
6. Leverage. Do your research and homework to give you more leverage. Salespeople and companies hate losing business to competitors. Know the average price or pay range for something and have that be your starting point. I always gave the best prices and deals when it was to beat or match a competitor. There are some crazy low prices at competitors so make sure you price check. Businesses are having to be more competitive to competitor prices if they hope to stay in business. Consumers have a lot more power and leverage than they used to. If someone or a company won’t match the price you want, fuck them, and go somewhere else that deserves the business. Other examples of leverage could be other job offers, other price quotes, better packages, quicker delivery times, freebies, etc. Use anything and everything to your advantage.

Combine many or all of these tactics and it’ll increase your results. Negotiating will become something that you actually look forward to if you’re prepared enough for it. Plus, it’ll benefit you for a lifetime. So use these suggestions as a platform to start getting your way! You deserve it after all… don’t you? If so, go and get your way because it’ll make you happier! And enough with not knowing what you’re doing! It’s costing you too much!

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Be great,

Cody Cameron