What are your top negotiation problems?
We all negotiate every day, we might not think of it as negotiating, which is probably our first problem…
We negotiate the DIY jobs at home with our spouses or partners. We negotiate child care arrangements with family members or paid service providers. We bargain with co-workers and bosses about work projects. We negotiate with team members in order to improve their performance, or with our children to do their homework or tidy up their room… We could negotiate with any supplier, supermarket or retailer for whatever we buy and yet how many of us do?
Our ability to negotiate effectively is directly related to our success as a professional in our job and as a cost controller at home and at work. It even impacts our success as a life partner and parent. It is an essential life skill.
So what are the most common problems we face with regard to negotiation?
If we could understand the barrier to our effectiveness maybe we could performance a little bit better because by being aware of the common traps we might be able to avoid them. Based on a few decades of conversations about this topic (I know I look 21 years old. No really…). Here is my starter list. I’d love for you to send me your top negotiation problems, either from this list or some others I have not thought off.
Some of the top negotiation problems
- I don’t always see the opportunity to negotiate
- I tend to settling too soon and feel that I could have got more
- I feel that I have to act like I have more authority or power than I have
- I tend to defer to keeping a strong relationship even if I have to lose ground
- I am not great at working out what I want from the negotiation beforehand
- I am often afraid or too embarrassed to ask.
- I find it difficult to wait, in silence, for the other person to respond
- I often accept verbal agreements and feel uncomfortable about getting things in writing
- I often find I am unprepared because I don’t know enough about the other parties involved
- I am not sure how best to determine the other side's authority level
- I am not good at working out or sticking to my bottom line.
- I rarely establish a fall-back plan beforehand
- I think I spend too much time talking and not enough listening
- Emotions (mine or others) get involved which disrupt the discussion and I don’t know how to handle them.
- I am not great at reading the small print and often misunderstand some key details
I’d love for you to send me your top negotiation problems, either from this list or some others I have not thought off. Or if you need some ideas on how to solve your biggest negotiation problem – then please contact me here
For more information please send a message via the Contact Us Page. Or you can register for an upcoming webinar.
