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Showing posts with label practical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label practical. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Baby Boomer's Practical Guide to Everday Negotiations


Some people hate negotiating. They think it is too confrontational or they just don’t want to be bothered. They would rather pay full price than negotiate. When they buy a car, they pay the sticker price. When they experience problems with an appliance or computer they have purchased, they accept the response that there is nothing to be done from the customer complaint office. As a result, they sometimes become frustrated, blaming themselves for giving in or being timid.

This practical guide will show you that negotiating those everyday transactions and maneuvering life’s daily little annoyances does not have to be confrontational at all and can sometimes even be quite fun. It will show you how you can avoid confrontation in certain circumstances and still achieve your goals in the negotiation, whether it is getting the best price on a new car or dealing with an overworked and underpaid service representative. It will provide you with a new way of dealing with those pesky call and service centers that never seem able to help you. Although intended primarily for baby boomers, I think it will help just about anyone to be a better negotiator in those day to day negotiations.

 What is Negotiation?

The dictionary defines "negotiation" as the "mutual discussion and arrangement of the terms of a transaction or agreement." [1] From this definition, it is apparent that one of the characteristics of a negotiation is that it is "mutual." That means that a negotiation is not intended to be one-sided. Each party is expected to be heard.

There are some people who believe that unless they receive everything they are seeking in a negotiation, they have failed. They are usually the ones who are rude and love confrontation. However, as the Rolling Stones sang, "you can't always get what you want." That is not to say that you should not try to get whatever you can. But keep in mind, in a negotiation there are bound to be compromises by both parties.

There are other people who believe that at the end of the negotiations each party should have received something of value. Often, this is called a "win win" result. While that may be the best result for all parties, the reality is that generally one party does get more than the other. This guide will help you be the one who gets more. Stuart Diamond, the author of a book on negotiation, in fact, titled his book, "Getting More." As he notes repeatedly in his book, that does not mean getting everything.[2]

How to Become a Successful Negotiator
What makes someone a good negotiator? There are many books on the subject of negotiations and seminars that may cost thousands of dollars. In this small guide, I hope to distil the best practices of a good negotiator in everyday situations. The best way to become one yourself is to practice. As the old joke went: “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?”  “Practice, practice, practice!” Let me suggest that the following guidelines are a good start. Much of what follows is simply common sense. Yet too often we forget them.

This is the first in a series of posts on negotiations which will appear periodically on this blog. So, stay tuned.


[1] www.Dictionary.com
[2] www.gettingmore.com

Saturday, September 29, 2012

What is Negotiation? A Boomer's Guide

What is negotiation?  People often think of negotiation as a process that only takes place between large corporations over major contracts or between lawyers over the settlement of a lawsuit. What they do not realize is that they are negotiating every day with their spouse, their children, their employer and co-workers as well as many others. People just don't think of those as negotiations. For example, let's say a parent sets a time for a 16 year old to return from a date at 10 o'clock and the child insists on 11. If they compromise at 10:30, that is a negotiation. 

How can you best accomplish your goals in any such negotiation? I am in the process of writing a free ebook that I will make available on this blog in the next few weeks. Look for it.  Remember, it is FREE!

"The Baby Boomer's Practical Guide to Everyday Negotiations" is now available on this blog. Please see the November 24, 2012 post.