1. 90% of successful negotiation is down to preparation. Effective negotiators go to great lengths to plan the questions they will ask and the assumptions they will pressure test in order to get a totally clear picture of the current situation.

2. Set your ‘walk away’ point then forget about it. This is the breakpoint beyond which you will lose money and should never ever be exceeded. Once this ‘stop point’ is set you need to forget about it and solely concentrate on hitting their breakpoint. In other words, if you are buying from them getting them to accept the least they would accept (without walking away) or, if you are selling to them, getting them to pay the highest possible price they would pay without walking away.

3. Observe their language and behaviour. You will never truly know their breakpoint- unless you have a truly open book relationship- but the way they react and what they say (and how they say it) will give you clues as to how close to their breakpoint you are.

4. Be creative. Negotiation is a fluid process and the more flexible and creative you can be with what you offer or demand the more successful you will be, the more room you will have to manoeuvre and the more likely you are to avoid deadlock.

5. Trade your concessions and give absolutely nothing away without getting something back in return. Don’t think you have to give something away for free just to ‘get the ball rolling’…this won’t soften the other party up it will just make them tougher!

6. Never ever accept the first deal no matter how good it is! Negotiation is about giving and receiving satisfaction and the more someone has had to fight for something the more satisfied they will be once they get it.

7. Negotiation takes place in their head. Through your use of specific and concise questions you need to understand their pressures, priorities, alternatives and areas of interest. Without having a thorough appreciation of their situation you will not be able to pinpoint their breakpoint let alone drive them towards it.

8. Maintain high aspirations. Negotiation can be uncomfortable and frustrating and it is easy for your head to drop. Accomplished negotiators don’t get bogged down in areas of disagreement they build on positive forward momentum in order to keep the negotiation fluid and dynamic.

9. Keep track of where the money is. Negotiation is not about ‘winning’ or ‘losing’ but growing profitable business. Therefore it is crucial to keep track of the cash value being traded at all times and effective negotiators have a system in place to do this.

10. The more you say the more you give away. Negotiation is not selling. You don’t need to enthuse, justify or present when negotiating. In order to be successful you need to keep your emotions in check, evaluate everything and state your proposals clearly and concisely.

© Gary Gorman 2008

Managing a business today is a challenging task. The competition is stiff and the challenges are always present. Marketing your business in different ways will keep it alive and ahead of its competitors. Conducting presentations is important to gain more clients and potential business partners. Doing so will give you better opportunities to improve your company. You just have to be an effective speaker to impress your audience and get the deal you want. Here are the best ways to do this.

Be Specific: Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say

This is a general rule for speakers, especially when it comes to business presentations. You need to be specific about what you are discussing. Provide facts instead of just presenting speculations. You can use examples to make your presentation more understandable. Go straight to the point. Remember that your audience consists of entrepreneurs and customers who want to know how your products or services will benefit them. Provide them the right information they need and convince them that they need your company.

Be Clear and Energetic

State your ideas clearly and precisely. You should observe consistency in everything you say. This will make your audience believe in what you are presenting. Always be energetic and avoid dull moments. Do not let shyness ruin your presentation. Interact with your audience by entertaining their questions with a positive approach. This will keep your presentation from being boring.

Use Effective Presentation Media

The media you use play a great role in making your presentation awesome and effective. PowerPoint, for example, is a traditional yet effective presentation tool. Avoid using too many effects, as this may defeat your purpose of catching your audiences attention. Excessive presentation effects will make your slides hard to understand. A high-quality video template is also an effective tool to draw attention. A reliable advertising company can provide a good video for your next business meeting.

Groom Yourself

Proper grooming is also important. You should be as presentable as possible because your audience consists of professionals. A business suit will do for all types of presentation. Do not forget to wear enough perfume and makeup. It is ideal to look at yourself in the mirror before the start of your meeting to makes sure you are well groomed.

Be Confident

Confidence is your best weapon. You need to be confident if you want to impress your audience. Study and master your presentation, and practice clear delivery. The way you stand and speak affects the reliability of the information you provide. Be authoritative and confident about what you are saying. This will help you convince your audience that they need your products or services.

Nail Your Presentation

Nail your presentation by starting with a warm welcome and ending with an effective call to action. Your audience knows what to do. They will automatically approach you or contact your office if they like your presentation. Give them time to decide, but never forget to provide them your contact details.

When you attempt to conquer a powerful bully In your negotiation, what psychology do you use? At the initial thought of confronting him, are you overwhelmed by fear or are you emboldened with the psychological mindset required to conquer him?

Take note of the following insights in your negotiation to conquer a powerful bully.

Understand the bully’s environment: – (That will lead to understanding his mind and the way he thinks.)

Before you can conquer a bully, you must know how he thinks. Part of understanding that process is knowing as much as possible about the current environment that the bully is in. That encompasses his home, work, and pleasure environments. The fact is, he may be stimulated to act a certain way based on the associates he has in those environments. Thus, if you understand what ‘makes him tick’, you’ll be better prepared to confront him.

Identifying when the perception of bullying is valid:

Another factor you should consider is how the bully perceives the aspect of bullying. Some negotiators are very hard-nosed, others are softer. Thus, the hard-nosed negotiator may not see himself as bullying. Instead, he may see himself as a tough negotiator, while you may be perceiving him as being prickly if not a subset of that word.

If you sense you’re being bullied, address your concerns. In a worst-case scenario, he may tell you that he’s not bullying you at all, or he may tell you that he knows that he’s bullying you and challenge you to do something about it. In either case, you will know exactly what you’re dealing with. You’ll be able to adjust your negotiation efforts from that point.

Why it’s important to understand the mindset of a bully:

As stated above, it’s important to understand the bully’s mindset because that insight will allow you to glimpse his thought process. That insight will lend light to how you can combat the bully and eventually conquer him.

One of the best ways to gain insight into his thought process is to observe how he interacts with others. Note if he cowers before those he perceives as being more powerful than himself. Take note also of those that he emulates; that will enhance your acumen per what he values in a bully. From there, you can create strategies that will confound him, praise him, or act like the bully he emulates, when such is appropriate.

Why it’s important to Understand what a bully fears: (To understand what a bully fears gives a negotiator the ability to pose himself as the object that induces fear in the bully.)

Understanding what a bully fears informs you of the weapons you can use to combat him. Some of those insights can be observed by the body language gestures he exudes during a negotiation. You can also gain insights from his word choices (e.g. using we/us versus I).

The importance of understanding how the bully sees you and why he picks you as a victim:

Most bullies will usually pick on those they perceive as being weak. That’s because bullies want easy targets. Plus, by picking on those that they perceive as being weak, they increase the probability of not incurring wrath for doing so. To prevent yourself from being targeted for bullying, don’t appear to be an easy mark.

As you can see, there’s a lot of psychology that goes into the make-up of a bully’s mind. To negotiate more fervently against him, know how he thinks, don’t appear to be an easy mark, and fight back in some way when confronted by a bully… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating.