Have you ever stopped to consider whether your negotiation style is effective? Maybe you are too tough and come across harsh or maybe you are too accommodating. Although your goal is to achieve an effective balance, chances are your natural personality tends to have a strong impact on your negotiating style. Good negotiators work to identify these natural tendencies and know when they need to change their style. They are able to devise a strategy for building powerful negotiating skills.
How Do You Know When To Change Your Style
The most obvious sign that you need to try a new approach is when your negotiation is not effective. Are you losing customers? Are you failing to close deals? If the answer is yes then it might be time to take a look at your negotiating strategy. Different people respond to different types of negotiation. The first step is to get to know your counterpart. Are they likely to be impressed by someone who is assertive and a go-getter? Or are they likely to see that type of negotiation as pushy and aggressive? Once you discover how they are likely to respond, you can come up with an approach that will help you both meet a common goal.
How Does Your Negotiation Style Impact The Outcome
Some people tend to be very competitive negotiators and have a strong desire to be the “winner.” Others tend to be more cooperative and look to maximize benefits for both parties. While neither strategy is necessarily wrong, it is good to develop a healthy balance between the two. It is certainly important to be persistent and assertive when negotiating, but if you become so concerned with yourself that you are no longer helping your counterpart, you are likely to lose their trust and ultimately their business. Instead, try to approach any business deal or situation as an opportunity to help each other. By offering to cooperate with your counterpart, you are more likely to reach an agreeable solution.
Effective negotiators know they have to be flexible with their negotiating strategy. There is not a “one size fits all” mentality when it comes to negotiations. Knowing how and when to change your style can help you to become a stronger and more successful negotiator.
