Deborah M.
Kolb, PhD, Judith williams, PhD and Carol
Frohlinger, JD
by WorkingWomen2000.com
Negotiation
is the currency of business. It's the way we
resolve conflicting priorities or manage
multiple demands on our time. In fact,
whenever we need something from someone
else—a job, more cooperation, more time, or
more money—we negotiate. It pays to hone
your negotiating skills.
Do your homework. With the right
information at your fingertips—such as
comparative salaries, market trend data, or
performance evaluations—you can build a
solid case, confident that the demands you
are making are reasonable and that you have
the ammunition to support them.
Develop
alternatives. Ask yourself what
you will do if you can't reach an agreement
that meets your needs with this person at
this time. What other options do you have?
If your alternatives are good—say, another
job prospect—you are not captive of an
imposed solution that comes up short. You
can objectively weigh what's best for you.
To be effective, however, these alternatives
need to be more than wishful thinking.
Create
multiple proposals. There's more
than one way to skin a cat. You can be
flexible on the means of achieving your
goals without compromising those goals. Be
creative and come up with multiple proposals
that satisfy your needs. Given only one
proposal, the other party has a single
choice: yes or no. Increase those options
and you improve the chances of reaching
agreement. 
Make
your value visible. For your
value to influence a negotiation, you must
take concrete steps to ensure that it is
right there on the table to see—a glowing
letter from a happy client, the quarter's
latest figures, etc. When a woman's work
disappears—as it often does—so do influence
and bargaining power.
Expect
challenges. Everyone wants an
edge in a negotiation. Challenges are
intended to put you on the defensive—and
keep you there. They are also predictable.
Anticipate how the other person is liable to
react and think of specific ways to respond.
When your credentials or motives are
misinterpreted, set the record straight. If
the other side attempts to make you the
problem, shift the focus to the real problem
and offer a solution. If caught off-guard,
interrupt the action—take a break or
reschedule.
Engage
the other person. The best
negotiations are exercises in two-way
communication. Needs exist on both sides of
the table. Perspectives, feelings, and ideas
differ. By showing appreciation for these
differences, you put the other person more
at ease in talking about them. As shared
understanding increases, you stop pulling
against each other and start working
together toward a mutual solution.
'No' is
only the beginning. Many
negotiations begin with a resounding 'No.'
To get past that no, you must first see the
possibility of a yes. Seemingly no-win
situations can often be turned around.
Negotiation is always, or almost always, a
possibility.
