8 Negotiation Mistakes That Can Cost You The Deal

8 Negotiation Mistakes That Can Cost You The Deal

Sean:  Hey guys, welcome back to the Leadership Stack channel. It’s your boy, Sean Si. I hope you guys have been doing well. And if you’re new to the channel, please hit the subscribe button and the bell notification icon so that you can get notified on every new episode that we have.

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For today, we have a special episode for you, because this is something that you and I do every single day, whether it’s with your family members, friends or with your client, we all negotiate. And these are the top 8 negotiation mistakes to avoid.

The first and perhaps one of the most common negotiation mistakes is the failure to prepare.

You see, when you’re coming to the negotiation table, let’s say it’s a big value negotiation, maybe you’re negotiating for a contract, you’ve got to know who you’re negotiating with. What their likes are. What their dislikes are.

Perhaps you should bring a representation, a bottle of wine, or cake. Whatever it is that would help you and help your negotiation counterpart feel that you have the best intentions for the negotiation, you got to do that.

You also have to know what you’re negotiating for. What are the wins going to look like for you and for your negotiation counterpart? Not knowing these things means you’ve already set yourself up to fail. Always remember: Failing to prepare means preparing to fail.

Next is about the emotion. We are all emotional beings. We can argue that people buy things mostly because of emotions. No matter how much you’ve viewed the specs, seen the price, tried to haggle with the seller, at the end of the day, you will make an emotional decision about whatever it is that you’re buying.

And in negotiating, emotion does get in the way and ego does get in the way as well.

Sometimes your negotiation counterparts are tough. They are tough nuts to crack. What happens then is you might feel upset, you might feel offended, you might feel like, “This might not be the best deal for me.”

You have to recognize when your emotions and your ego gets in the way, because that will sour the negotiation. And what you’re always gunning for is a win for yourself or your company and a win for your negotiation counterpart as well. And you will never be able to reach that if you allow your emotions get the best of you.

Stay cool, stay calm, and make sure that you’re level-headed and you’ve prepared before you come to the negotiation table.

Next is unethical practices. Usually this is lying. Usually this is overpromising. These are some things that you have to avoid.

Because when you come into the negotiation and you’re looking for a win-win, both parties assume that we’re doing it in good faith. And there is nothing more important than making sure, after the negotiation is done and you strike a deal, that expectations are set and they are going to be done, and done properly, and done accordingly.

When you lie on the negotiation table or when you over promise, then the expectations will not add up and you will disappoint your negotiation counterpart, and/or you will, of course, disappoint your team, because you have given them something that you have over promised and now they have to do the brunt of the work.

So don’t overpromise and don’t lie. Be ethical about the things that you are going to say.

Next is coming in with a spirit of competition rather than collaboration.

Some people, when they negotiate, they feel like their negotiation counterpart is their enemy and they need to win and they need to won up that enemy. When you come to the negotiation table with a spirit of competition, it sours the negotiation and what happens is usually you get to a no deal.

Now, that’s not necessarily bad, but the reason why you get to a no deal is what’s important. If you get to a no deal because you presented a win-lose or a lose-win scenario, then that’s not a really good reason why you didn’t get the deal.

So instead come into the negotiation table with a spirit of collaboration where you are playing in the same team and you’re just trying to get to the best possible outcome and scenario for both of you.

The next mistake to avoid is neglecting your negotiation counterpart’s perspective, how they feel, how they see the deal, what’s going to be a win for them.

If you don’t think about these things and you don’t see things from their perspective, you are only going to be negotiating what’s important for you and that’s going to come out as selfish. That’s going to come out as inconsiderate and you will not probably get a deal done. And that is a mistake, because in the negotiation, again, you want the best possible outcome for both parties.

So you always have to think:  How are they seeing things? How would they think if I say this and that? How would they feel if I do this and that? If I put this on the table or if I remove these things from the table, what would they think? You have to be considerate about these things, because that is how you get the best deals done.

The next mistake is rushing the process.

No one likes to be rushed. If someone doesn’t want to get married on this day and time, then it’s not going to happen. You cannot rush these things. And negotiation is kind of like marriage in a way, because you commit to a certain outcome.

Rushing the process may backfire on you because the negotiation counterpart might feel like you’re just trying to get things done so that you hit your quota, so that you can finally write it off, so you can finally cash in your check. Now that’s not going to be a very good perspective from them about you.

So don’t rush the process. Ask for follow-ups for sure. That is going to be your due diligence. You keep following up what your negotiation counterpart thinks of what you’ve brought to the table. That’s good work. That is due diligence on your end. That’s being responsible.

But don’t push them to a certain degree where you’re following up hour after hour, day after day, when they told you that they’re going to get back to you next week.

The next mistake is offering a win-lose scenario or a lose-win scenario. A win-lose or a lose-win is not something that is going to make your teams comfortable with each other.

When you agree to a lose-win where you lose and they win, guess what? After some time, you will feel pretty angry about yourself and about your negotiation counterpart, because you feel like they’re taking advantage of you, when in fact, you agreed to that deal.

In offering a win-lose scenario, where you win and they lose, it’s not so good for your negotiation counterpart to accept. So the chances are you’re going to get to a no deal. You always have to figure out what is best for you and your negotiation counterpart so that the deal can push through and push through successfully, and you’re both happy and your teams are both happily working with each other.

And lastly, using “I” and not “We”.

Now, this is a common mistake because when you keep using the word “I” subliminally, what’s coming out is you’re doing the deal and you’re negotiating deal for yourself, when in fact, you have to be inclusive with your negotiation counterpart, because you both are trying to get to the best possible deal that you can come up with- a win-win for both of you, not just for yourself.

I know it’s a small thing, but it is a big thing subliminally at the back of the head of your negotiation counterpart. And it’s also so easy to use the word “We” as well, as if you are part of their team and they feel like you’re playing for the same team alongside them.

So I hope you’ve learned something in this video, the eight common negotiation mistakes that you should avoid. And I hope that in your next negotiation, you will be able to keep these things in mind.

Now what I want you to do is list down at least three of these mistakes that you think you’re susceptible to, you have the habit of doing. Write them down and if it’s alright with you, share them in the common section below, so that we can jump in to help you out as well.

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Thank you so much, guys, and I’ll see you in the next episode.