Negotiating for Win-Win Results
FountainBlue's January 19 When She Speaks event was on the topic of Negotiating for Win-for-All Results.
We were fortunate to have such a fun and experienced panel of leaders and negotiators, representing a range of companies and backgrounds. They generously shared best practices around negotiating.
Negotiating takes place between companies, within companies, at home, at work, everywhere there are people. Learn from each negotiation, and build a network of supporters and mentors to help you better negotiate.
It's all about the relationship.
Focus on building a long-term relationship with all stakeholders, even if it means sacrificing short-term victories.
Be curious about the motivations and needs of the other parties.
Insist on respectful interactions. Empower yourself to walk away if the interactions do not maintain a level of respect.
Seek to create win-wins for all parties, for the short term and in the long term.
Build a team culture: Do the give and take, choose your battles, make your sacrifices, take one for the team.
Communicate clearly and respectfully in good faith.
Strive to keep a clear, open and transparent communication in your negotiations. Even if it means awkwardly calling out the other party for not adhering to that level of communication and trust.
Be firm, fair and consistent in your communication.
Know what you want and ask for it. (Implication: don't complain that you don't get what you want if you didn't ask for it.)
Be generously forthcoming in sharing resources and information, and ask for that also in return.
Keep the momentum and conversation going. Stymied negotiations waste time and money and puts the credibility of all involved at risk.
Be strategic and hardworking.
Do your homework and be prepared for each negotiation. Learn about the people, their motivations, the product, the team, the company, etc.,
Use tools like milestones and roadmaps and project plans to help get all parties negotiating in alignment, and delivering positive results for the customer.
Understand and speak to the value you're create, and its relevance to the audience you're connecting with.
Give yourself cooling-off time if emotions run high.
When you get the attention of influential others, consider ending your conversation with an ask. The other way to put this is to have a goal/objective if you get the audience of someone influential.
Speak to the Value of something first, then to the Pricing of something, while factoring in the Cost of implementation.
Be Other-Focused.
Take a 'Cow's Eye' view of the world - seeing the world from the other's perspective (a cow has eyes on the side of their head, so she sees the world differently).
'Fair' does not necessarily mean equal. 'Fair' to one party is defined differently than it is for another.
Support Others with their Negotiations.
Negotiate for yourself, and for others.
Create an old-girl's-club to back each other up, so that you're not your only advocate.
Don't be the victim of 'man-splaining'. If someone repeats what you just said and claims credit for knowing more, then call him on it. Or call out that man on your friend's behalf.
Seek a mentor, advocate or champion. Be one for others.
Resource:
Mentors and Sponsors and Champions, Oh My! https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mentors-champions-sponsors-oh-my-linda-holroyd
The bottom line is that negotiating is a part of life, and learning how to do it well would benefit yourself and all you touch.
Please join me in thanking our gracious hosts at Palo Alto Networks and our panelists for FountainBlue's January 19 When She Speaks event, on the topic of Negotiating for Win-for-All Results!
Facilitator Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue
Panelist Vonnie French, VP, Supply Chain, Palo Alto Networks
Panelist Debbra Rogers, CEO, Paradata
Panelist Birte Schwarzenfeld, VP Global Account Management, Flex
Panelist Heather Sullivan, Chief People Officer, ChargePoint