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Three Ways To Become a Master of Negotiation

working office startup negotiation

Negotiation can be everything in a business. It’s what will help you get a good position of power within the company. It’ll help you bring in business partners that you didn’t even know you needed. In addition, it will convince customers to buy from you and, in some cases, only you. It should also help convince others that you’re in it for the long haul, and not necessarily spinning them a tale made of lies. It’s time to master negotiation tools.

But negotiation doesn’t come easy. In fact, you’ll need to properly take hold of some negotiation tools to become a master at it. It doesn’t come easy and it’s not an overnight process. However, we’ve come up with three useful negotiation tools that will help you win over even the most stern of investors. It’s all a matter of how you put meaning into your words, and making sure you show along with tell. Remember that from school? Time to do it again, but with money on the line. Let’s talk.

Preparation is Everything with Negotiation Tools

Money isn’t going to print itself. You need to absolutely, positively prepare with your negotiation tools. They aren’t going to come naturally, even to the most gifted of business people. This is where preparation comes in.

The first thing you want to do is know what kind of client you’re dealing with. Who have they invested with before? What kind of market values do they believe in? What kind of investments do they find to their liking? Look deeper within your client list and see what they’re made of, and what makes them tick. It’s not always easy to find traits, but they are there.

Next, make sure that whatever you plan to negotiate isn’t something they don’t want to hear. Nothing turns off an investor more than when they know they’re facing a field of lies. You’ll want to be direct, but also convincing, in what you’re offering. Fortunately, most people know how to do this, as they’re simply driven enough to be themselves. So be yourself. Don’t be a jerk.

Finally, use negotiation tools to your advantage. Anyone can tell, but you want to show as well. Prepare graphs. Show the power of your business and how it can change the landscape. Be attractive to an investor, but not too attractive. They’ll know if you’re trying to pull off an impossible magic trick – unless your negotiation tools are just right.

Building Value

The next step with negotiation is making sure that the investor or whoever you’re talking to understands your value. Not only in what you envision for your company but the company itself. Where can it go in a few years? Why would we want to stick around and see its endgame? It’s here that your negotiation tools could go into overdrive if you let them.

Start building with your presentation. Explain where you’re going with your company. Why you’re so driven to get there with it. What team members you have on board to keep things going. Building value is vital to newcomers, if only because it shows exactly what they’re going to get back with their investment. Without that, why would they drop a single dollar into your company? Value is everything to these guys.

Not to mention talking about how value can grow with the company over time. How many people do you see yourself hiring in a few years? Where will profit take you as the market enters new technological fields? Be innovative, be sharp, and, most importantly, be honest. Things can change on a dime, but if you show you’re ready for that, there’s nothing your negotiation skills can’t do for you.

Be Ready For Counterpoints

Finally, be ready for questions. Investors will want to know everything about your business, and may zig when you’re clearly ready to zag. It’s all right, this is just part of the negotiation process. They’ll want to know things.

It’s here that you’ll need to be ready. Look at the possible questions that could come from your presentation. What about if this happens with your company? Or this? What happens if an employee drops out? Or if a parts supplier isn’t ready? It’s here that your negotiation skills will be put to their greatest test. Don’t back down.

Offer solutions to the problems. Go ahead and get any concerns out of the way first if you can, to put those potential investors at ease. The best part of negotiation skills is being able to use them beyond your means. Again, not spinning lies or anything that investors can see right through. But showing the know-how in making the most of your presentation. Investors like confidence in someone and their product, and are likely to go with them the most.

Mastering negotiation skills, again, is not an overnight process. They require work, patience, and quite a bit of talent. But with the right approach – and preparation in every sense of the word – you’ll be ready to win them over.

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