Glassdoor Blog » Negotiation

Closing The Deal: Ten Steps To Successful Negotiations

MonsterThinking — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:00:11 +0000

There are ten steps that can be followed to simplify and organize the planning approach for a negotiations process.

Following these ten steps will increase your efficiency and effectiveness in negotiations:

Step 1. Never Forget Your True Objective – To Maximize Your Own Gain:

Remember ME comes before WE, but you need them to get there. Only you decide if you move, how much and in what way.

Step 2. Prepare or Don’t Play:

Learn as much as you can about the other party, including personal information, and keep a clearing house of notes for the future.

Learn about the context in which the other party functions. Create viable alternatives.

Know your value to them and how to reduce their perception of the value they bring you. Create a living, dynamic map to guide you.

Plan your bidding and counter bidding strategy. Practice and role play.

Step 3. Don’t Sympathize With the Other Side, Empathize:

Put yourself in their shoes and inside their head. Consider how you would respond to what you are saying and what would motivate you to say what they are saying.

But don’t lose sight of the prize – ME comes before WE.

Step 4. Teach The Other Side To Empathize with You:

Use the language of the other party and what they have already said – put it in their terms. Emphasize that “I’m just like you.”

Step 5. Manage Yourself:

Take a hard, honest look at yourself and develop strategies to use your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. Be trustworthy, but verify what you’re told.

Believe what you say and say what you mean. Play by whatever rules you ask them to play by.

Step 6. Manage The Other Party:

Make sure that you make the deal worth their while, while making them play by their own rules. Get guarantees, not promises – rebates, not volume discounts.

Use the power of principled persuasion, based on reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, consensus and making friends to influence people.

Step 7. Exchange Information Before You Exchange Value:

Don’t sell any deal until you know what can and should be sold. Listen with your ears instead of your mouth, and don’t interrupt. Also listen with your body and your mind. Challenge your assumptions and take note to see what’s missing.

After you listen, play Sherlock. Prepare to respond to questions that you do not want to answer. Prepare to say no and explain why.

Provide solutions, not just problems. Remember that how you say something can have more impact that what you say.

Step 8. Time is On Your Side:

Share your time deadlines, but don’t share your time costs.

Remember the importance of momentum – feed a conversation, starve an impasse.

Use a time-out when needed to think, get them to move or reduce emotion.

Step 9. Consider Implications For the Future:

Consider what precedent this deal will set and how it will impact the future profitability of deals.

Know what happens if the other side doesn’t follow through?

Step 10. Refine and Learn:

Unfortunately, there’s no “silver bullet” for success in negotiations, and while these steps and details provide a framework which can be leveraged in real world situations, practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect. But it can help.

I recommend learning, practicing and refining these steps by participating in practice negotiations or by additional opportunities to gain exposure to negotiation best practices and theory. Many valuable online and offline opportunities to learn and utilize negotiation skills exist, such as my Master Negotiations Executive Education program at SMU Cox School of Business.

Following these steps is one negotiation that all sides should agree on without compromise. After all, they’re a win-win. – Originally posted on MonsterThinking by Dr. Robin Pinkley

Closing The Deal: Ten Steps To Successful Negotiations is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Congratulations, You Got A Job Offer. Now What?

Heather Huhman — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:58:15 +0000

Getting the call and hearing those magical words “you’re hired” is an exciting moment for any job seeker. But once the thought of getting a job offer fully sinks in, excitement turns into anxiety and a thousand questions come to mind. What should I do next? Should I accept the job or decline it? Getting a job offer comes with many choices. Here is how you can deal with ceasing or continuing with your job hunt.

Is it in writing?

Before making a final decision of accepting the job, get the offer in writing detailing salary, benefits, and start date. If you and your future employer negotiate some conditions of your offer, have the letter altered to reflect the new changes. Never resign from your current job or indicate you have a new job until it is in writing. Nothing is final until both you and the company have agreed to the terms and signed a contract.

To accept or not accept

It is easy to accept a job offer on the spot when you are excited. Step back and take a moment to fully think about the job. Know what you are getting yourself into. Did you get an uneasy feeling or experience during the interview process? Then it may not be your next place of employment. You have ask yourself questions like:

Does the company fit my ideal place of employment?
Can I see myself working there longer than one year?
Do I like the work environment at the company?

Once you know whether you are going to accept or decline the job, write a letter to the employer. If you are accepting the job offer, state your official start date and express how excited you are to join the company. Keep it brief, unless your future employer wanted more information from you. If you are going to decline a job offer, write a letter saying thank you for the opportunity and express that you are declining.

Remember, if you accept a job offer, tell other employers you have been talking to during your job hunt that you are no longer seeking employment.

Congratulations, You Got A Job Offer. Now What? is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Job Seeker, What’s Your Price Tag?

Liz Ryan — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:11:56 +0000

Dear Liz,

I’m starting a new job search and the part that’s throwing me is the salary history part. I don’t want to share my last salary, which was low for my skill-set. I want to hear what they’re willing to pay, before I say anything about salary. I’ve heard that you should wait until you get an offer and take it from there. What do you think?

Thanks,

Marianne

______________________________________

Dear Marianne,

If you wait until you get an offer, the salary you’re offered could be insultingly low. At that point, it’s nearly impossible to re-start the compensation conversation on a more appropriate level. They’ve pegged you for a lower-level (salary wise) person than you are, and the worst part is that you’d have only yourself to blame. It’s essential to bring up the salary issue before things progress that far.

A great time to bring up salary is in the email or phone exchange during which the company invites you for a second interview. You can say “Oh, Thursday morning might be great, let me check….now, would this be a good time for us to synch up on compensation?”

I wouldn’t commit to the second interview until you know that you and the employer are in the same salary ballpark. If the person who calls you or emails you to set up the interview isn’t the one who can discuss salary, no problem. If they say, “Well, you’ll need to talk to Jane about that when you’re here,” you’ll say “Let’s do this; have Jane call me, and we can sort this out and then confirm the interview.” After all, it’s not only a waste of your time, but a waste of their time as well to conduct a second interview if there’s no match between your target range, and theirs.

That said, you’ve got to price yourself. You can’t wait to hear what the company is planning to pay. When you catch up with the person who can discuss salary, they’re not likely to share the salary range with you. They’re going to ask you “What did you get paid at ABC Graphics?” You’ll say, “In this search, I’m focusing on jobs in the $60K range. Does that mesh with your target range?” They may ask you again “What were you earning before?” You’ll smile (especially important on the phone!) and say “If this job pays around sixty thousand, it makes sense for us to talk. Will that work?” You don’t have to give up your last comp package. It’s nobody’s business, and it’s irrelevant. If they want you, and they can pay sixty thousand for your services, you’re in business.

A lot of employers will ask you to include a salary history in your resume or cover letter. Instead, include a line in your cover letter that says “I’m focusing on roles in the $60,000 range.” That will give them the information they need to screen you in or out. They don’t need a year-by-year, job-by-job salary history.

What if you shoot too high, and price yourself out of a good assignment? That’s where Glassdoor.com comes in. You’ve got to do your salary research ahead of time, so that you have a good handle on what any particular job is likely to pay, before you apply for it. I encourage every job seeker to price him- or herself like a house. You’ve never seen a home or condo listing that said “Make us an offer and we’ll talk.” The sellers tell you what they want to get for the house. As job seekers, we need to do the same thing.

In 2010, a job seeker needs to hit the market with a strong sense of his or her brand, value, and market comp level. This is no time for a trial-and-error approach.

Cheers,

Liz

Job Seeker, What’s Your Price Tag? is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

How to Get A Fair and Competitive Job Offer; Don’t Answer the Salary Question

Hank Stringer — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:13:53 +0000

What do you say when the recruiter or hiring authority asks how much salary / compensation / money you are looking for? You’ve waited for the interview, this is a company you want to go to work for or maybe you just need the job cause you just do…and they ask – How Much?

How Much Are You Asking for in terms of Salary or Compensation?

Answer to high – you might be out…too low and you’re screwing yourself out of life’s extras. What do you do? The answer is obvious, you’ve already been to Glassdoor and you walk in prepared with the market data you need – you know what others in the company and in competitive companies make for this job, this level. But maybe you don’t throw all the data out with a smile. It’s possible they don’t agree, have a lower figure in mind, have a higher figure in mind, and don’t know about Glassdoor (but need too). The answer today is the same you’ve heard and used in the past – get the employer thinking about stating the number first. Yes, you will continue to be asked to give last year’s W2 and give it honestly, BUT you must first get them thinking specifically about your value to the company.

When asked how much, the answer that works is to simply state the positives you’ve learned throughout the recruiting process and state clearly…”based on what I have seen and learned about your company I have no doubt you will make me a fair and competitive offer”. Then they can ask about W2s, but first get them thinking ‘what is fair and competitive’? Then you can direct them to Glassdoor to find out.

How to Get A Fair and Competitive Job Offer; Don’t Answer the Salary Question is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Staying Competitive: Tips for Interviewing in Today’s Market

Rusty Rueff — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:27:01 +0000

It doesn’t take a PhD economist to know that supply and demand create all kinds of different outcomes. The job market is no different. We are now in the stage of what I call an “arrogance of supply” – meaning companies are more often looking for “the perfect fit” rather than hiring “the best athlete” who can be trained to become the right fit. When unemployment is low, companies embrace the “best athlete” model of hiring where they will take a chance on a person who is smart, ambitious, accomplished and shares the values of the corporation. Best athletes are people who employers would say, “have all the right stuff, now let’s train them to do what we need them to do.” In times like these with oversupply, companies often lose their progressive thinking and adopt an attitude that each and every person must be “the perfect fit.” This means it is more important than ever to stand out and be unique in a job interviews because if you aren’t a “perfect fit” you aren’t going to get the job.

Here are five ideas for you, beyond the standard advice, that can make you stand out from the rest:

Come prepared with a solution to a problem. You are a smart person, you can use your functional area of expertise and evaluate the problems of a company and come ready with a plan to help them solve the issues. Example, if you are in marketing and you read from the news or the company website that their customer base is eroding, then you should come with a one page PowerPoint that provides the five ideas you have to stop the erosion. Even if you are wrong, or you misread the problem, you will have done something others won’t.
Offer to start on a probationary period. Let’s face it; if you are already on the inside, then you have a better chance than someone else on the outside. So offer to work on a temporary/probationary period and allow your confidence in your own abilities and your belief in performance-based rewards to be seen. Offer to start on Monday and sign whatever they would like to be signed that you will leave voluntarily and positively at any time during the “try-out” period for any reason that they ask. This approach might be just what the hiring manager and the HR person needs to get the job filled quickly at a lower risk.
Use the language of the company. Every company has a lexicon of buzzwords and acronyms that are unique to them. Before the interview, read the company website thoroughly, use sites like Glassdoor to read what employees talk about and how they say it, talk to someone/anyone who has worked at the company before or now and ask them for some of the buzzwords and “language” of the company. We all like people who we think know us and act and sound like us. Knowing and using those buzzwords can create confidence in the interviewer that you are a perfect fit for the culture.
Know something that the interviewer cares about and then apply yourself to that interest. Most everyone you interview with these days has a LinkedIn profile or some type of web presence. Find just one thing about the interviewer that you can apply your skills/talents to. It could be that you are talking in the interview about how to adapt the company’s offering to Gen Y. You could say, well, imagine if we were to go back to your alma mater, (insert University name here) and do focus groups. These focus groups….” You get the point. It might be that you find that the person coaches AYSO soccer, is involved in their church, reads books like crazy, and does Tai-Chi. It doesn’t matter; just get one conversation thread going that connects you to them in some way.
Give examples of how you make other people better. In an interview we get plenty of time to talk about ourselves and detail our accomplishments but rarely is there enough time for the interviewer to ask about how well you play in the sandbox. Come prepared with a story to tell her/him on how you have made others better on your team, on other teams, for the company as a whole, whatever it is, but something that leaves them with the impression that you will be a great teammate.

Keep at it. Just because you don’t get one job, doesn’t mean that there isn’t another right one out there for you. And always remember, you are talented!

Staying Competitive: Tips for Interviewing in Today’s Market is a post from: Glassdoor Blog