The BIGG Successs Show
The Negotiating Table
We serve up some delicious tips for negotiating your next bigg deal! Read the show summary at biggsuccess.com.
Welcome to the Big Success Show. Today, we'll sit down at the negotiating table. The Big Success Show with George and Mary Lynn. Hey everybody, we're sitting here at our favorite restaurant and we're at the negotiating table. Well, I love being here. Well, yes and no. Negotiating can be such a nerve-racking process. Yeah, I've negotiated a lot of my life and there's one thing I think I will say, Mary Lynn. Not a single experience has been that enjoyable and I think anyone who tells you that it is, they're lying through their teeth. I actually know a guy who buys a business or sells a business about every 90 days and he made a great comment once. He said he's never walked out of a deal in which he's bought where he didn't feel like he paid too much. He's never left a deal if he sold where he didn't feel like he didn't get enough and I think that's the nature of negotiating. Well, it's really hard to get exactly what you want, whether you're negotiating for a job, car, a loan, even a date. Yes, you always feel somewhat burned but you always learn from the situation. And so today we're going to serve up some delicious tips for negotiating your next deal. Negotiating can be a lot like a three-course meal. You've got your appetizer, your main course, and dessert. And before we get into the three courses, there's a couple of general things that we'll talk about. First, know what you want before you start negotiating. What's your ideal meal? What are your taste buds craving to use our analogy? That's where you have to start. And be prepared to ask for what you want even if it's not on the menu because you never know if the chef can whip it up for you if you don't ask. Oh, Mary Lynn, our appetizers are here. This is the first stage of the negotiating meal. The first stage of negotiating is a lot like the appetizer. You won't get filled up but you will get a taste of what's to come. You're really feeling things out here. What might they offer you? What are they looking for from you? Particularly if this is going to be a long-term relationship, use this time to build that relationship. Because if they like you, you're going to get a lot further with your negotiations, right? So before you get into the serious part of negotiations, try to establish a mutual relationship. And this is a crucial thing that I've done many times. The bottom line is look for win-win because you're going to have a long-term relationship. Right. And this is also a chance to look for some leverage. Why do they want to do this deal? How badly do they want it? Do they have to do it? You get to really learn your relative position here. And this is not the time to put it all out on the table. Don't name your price, your terms. We're going to save that for the next course. Ah, which has just arrived. Here it is. The main course. Of course, in the real world, you may not even get to this course. You may just decide the appetizers were enough. But if you decide that you still want to stay, here's something to keep in mind. This is where things can really stall. So if you're interested in the deal, you have to make sure you keep things moving on. One way you can do that, when you get stuck on a point, set it aside. Come back to it at the end of this course. Maybe if you chew on something else, this will be more appetizing later. You've got a lot on your plate. I've seen this time and time again, Marilyn. You get so caught up in negotiating fever that you lose sight of the big picture. You're trying to win your point. Sometimes you get the morsel and lose the meat. You don't want that. Well, to mix analogies, you win the battle, but you lose the war. Yeah, expect to give, but also to take. Establish that if you can see it on an issue, they'll have to concede too. This keeps your position strong. For example, the salary. Maybe they can't quite pay you what you want, but you get additional time off. That makes it worth it for you. Who? Marilyn, that was a lot to digest. I know, and dessert is still on the way. That's coming up the final course of our negotiating dinner. Today we're sitting at the negotiating table, and we've already been through two courses, the appetizer and the main course. Now it's time for our third course, dessert. And Marilyn, I'm not sure I want dessert. Well, you know what, George, you don't have to have dessert. You can walk away, but let's say you're going to stay because this looks pretty tasty. You've had your big meal. Now we've got to negotiate all the details. And out of everything we've done, this is probably the most nerve-wracking of all because now you're close to having to make that commitment. And I always say that I want the other guy to be equally unhappy. And I said that to people actually in the middle of negotiations and they've laughed, but they understood the point that if neither one of us feels fully satisfied, maybe we've reached a good point. And they may turn you down, be prepared for that, or you may turn them down. In either case, what are your options? You've got to have a contingency plan. Always keep your options open so you don't feel like you have to do this deal. What are some techniques that you recommend when sitting down at the negotiating table? Share them with us at BigSuccess.com. That's also where we have a written summary of today's show. And let's get our big quote for the day, George. Our big quote today comes from John F. Kennedy. He probably wasn't thinking about salaries or businesses when he said this. His goals were probably loftier, but the point is still good. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. So enter every negotiation knowing that you don't have to do it, but don't be afraid to do it. Next time, we're going to answer a question from one of our members who's facing a possible big change in her life. She wants to know if she should keep her job or buy a franchise. Yes, we'll do that if I can get out of this booth. I'm so full. Until then, here's to your Big Success. The Big Success Show at B-I-G-G Success.com. [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]