This weekend I had to negotiate with a friend and I pulled up some notes from another class. It was actually some useful material - I hope it can help you in the same way!
Before you negotiate, you may want to consider who you’re negotiating with. Relationships have an impact on the process of negotiation, and it is important to consider the consequences that the negotiation may have on the relationship.
Negotiations go sour quickly when there is a bad relationship between the two parties. Imagine how it would be if a poor employee tried to negotiate a raise. Their boss may not even like speaking to bad employees, and he would not want to deal with them longer than necessary. Needless to say, bad relationships could bring about good negotiations. When two parties dislike each other, they may try even harder to out due the other party, especially when these two parties are fighting over a contract with a third party. While it’s unnerving to deal with someone that gets under your skin, it’s important to know that these negotiations occur, and could be used to your advantage. Anyways, if the other party does not like you, what more have you got to lose?
When negotiating with a friend, people have two scripts that factor into their personality. One script deals with the previous relationship, and the importance of keeping that relationship. The other script focuses on the negotiation, and the desire to achieve a good outcome.
1. When the first script overcomes the second script, the outcome is usually lessened so that the negotiation adds to the relationship.
2. When the second script overcomes the first script, the outcome desired outcome should not change.
Make sure that you establish some common ground before negotiating with someone close to you. Let them know that it’s “strictly business” if the outcome means a lot to you. Otherwise, the negotiation could come back and hurt the relationship.
Interesting article, I have dealt with family in a contract setting and no matter how many times it was stated that the deal and the family relationship were independent of each other it still was an issue. The separation lasted until the first disagreement. I even brought up the fact that previously agreed upon behavior of keeping the two separate but it did not help. I think it would be quite rare that someone is able to keep family and business separate when engaged in a contract or deal with someone they are close too.
ReplyDeleteNegotiating amongst friends is much easier than formal negotiations in business. I came across a book by Jack Chapman, who claims to be a salary expert, and author of “Negotiating Your Salary : How to Make $1000 a Minute,” about how to leverage your negotiating power to its best advantage. http://www.salarynegotiations.com/
ReplyDeleteHere are five easy techniques he emphasized:
1. Know what you’re worth in your geography.
Well before you interview, do your salary research. Gather outside information on the current market value of your position. Credible Internet resources for this information include Salary.com, Payscale.com, Jobstar.org and Indeed.com. Their tools should give you a good market rate for the salary of peers in your position in your local area .
2. Monetize what you do.
If you want compensation, show how you’ll compensate the company by achiev ing its goals. Be prepared to sell return on investment : How will you make or save the company money? It's that simple. Be ready to cite specific situations where you have contributed to the bottom line, and plan to explain how your examples relate to the position you’re being offered. Since you should already have discussed ROI in your interview, it should be easy to recall those examples during salary negotiations. Money talks, and it works to your advantage to have several entries on your side of the ledger before you negotiate .
3. Postpone it.
Traditionally, compensation is the last element discussed in the interview. Considering today's economy, however, some interviewers may jump the gun and try to probe you for a figure early in the game. If this happens, you'll want to postpone that conversation. Chapman recommends practicing a specific phrase that you can use to delay salary negotiation should this situation arise.
Whatever you say, though, it shouldn't sound canned, too cutesy or overly rehearsed. When asked the salary question early, here is an example Chapman suggests you might try. Feel free to adapt it to your personal tastes:
"I'd love to talk to you about it, but can I ask you this ? The salary I'm asking for might not exactly match your figure, but I'm flexible. I wouldn't be screened out of an interview just for salary, would I?"
This is one way to put it back on them by asking a question that will be hard for them to reject out of hand.
Another technique Chapman suggests using is reframing the priorities. For example, when asked about salary early in the interview, respond this way:
"That's really Number Three on my priority list. My Number One priority is to make sure that we can work together. Number Two is to make sure my ROI covers my salary at least three to four times over. And Number Three is the actual salary number.
While I'm happy to talk about salary, could we concentrate on Number One first?"
4. Use the magic four- letter word
When you're finally ready to address the salary, you can either let the company initiate it or you can be the one who goes first. Chapman suggests that you let the other party go first if you're concerned about security. Otherwise, go first and lead with a high number because it's always easier to negotiate down than up.
Once you hear that figure, Chapman also suggests responding with a four-letter word. That magic word is, "Hmmm."
5. Don't forget the perks.
If they can't find the dollars to pay you up front, don't forget what Chapman calls "risk-factor dollars." This is the time to negotiate those non-cash items, like time off, flex hours, work from home and any other areas you'd like to put on the table. Review all the perks and benefits that you can. Your goal is to negotiate the best possible compensation package. Remember, they already want you. Now you're just negotiating your price. Don't be afraid to put the most important elements forward for discussion.
I do not know when you negotiation you with friends you can just keep it business I think both side may say that at the start but if in the end one side feels cheated or taken advantage of it would change how they feel and how they interact. Which would most likely happen since most times people do not start off on equal footing when negotiating and their relationship is based more on need then like and if people were truly friends would there be a need to negotiate or would a real friend just help out a friend and trust it would be paid back in some way later.
ReplyDelete