Negotiation 101: Staying Agile & Emotionally Conscious

In my last post, I shared thoughts on negotiation – the situations where negotiation is appropriate, and the first of eight tips for successful interactions. These last tips will help you stretch your brain, and keep your emotions in check during situations that involve negotiation.

Think Outside the Box: Be willing to negotiate on terms other than cash. If price is an issue (which most of the time it is) try to incorporate other things that are important to you into the deal. A few ideas for consideration: timing, quality, what is delivered, and what type of support is attached. If you are negotiating with friends, how about homemade cookies, dinner, a backrub? My friend Nikill says, “You owe me something small.” He’ll hold his fingers up, laugh and say “Just something small.”

Tread Lightly: Some deals are more important than others, be more sensitive around larger or emotionally charged deals. It is so much easier for people to walk away faster, or have a strong intuitive reaction telling them to back off when there is a lot is at stake.

Check Yourself: Don’t get emotional. Stay calm, pleasant, and overall happy. This will help you stay confident during the negotiation process.

Negotiation takes practice. Find a friend that will play devil’s advocate for your negotiation role playing. You’ll feel more confident when opportunities for negotiation arise. With that, good luck and happy negotiating!

About TDS Guest Blogger Justin Beck Justin is the Co-Founder and CEO of PerBlue, a mobile and social gaming company in Madison, Wisconsin. The company is best known for its flagship product, Parallel Kingdom, the first location-based RPG. Justin is a passionate software developer and entrepreneur. As CEO, Beck has grown PerBlue from a group five college friends to a team of 30 full-time employees.

Prior to starting PerBlue, Beck held software engineer and program manager positions at Microsoft and Google. Beck graduated from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in Computer Engineering and Computer Science.

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Guest bloggers for the TDS Business Blog.

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