We all have things that we want for ourselves.
Whether it is a good deal on a vacation, a project we need done in our home, shedding some weight, landing a better job, or saving more money, we undoubtedly have things that we wish to accomplish. How do we get to the place we really want to be?
1. Set concrete goals. In order to
achieve what we want, it is important to know exactly what that thing is. Having something specific to strive for gives us both a starting and ending point to monitor and helps to keep us on track to reaching the goals that are most important to us.
Keep track of your progress along the way (on paper) so that you can see the gains that you are making, no matter how slight they may be. Even a few steps in the right direction is an indication of progress.
2. Do your
homework. If you are going to put yourself into a position where you need to negotiate for what you want, it is very important to make sure you are fully prepared going in.
Just as
you wouldn’t go into a job interview without knowing the basics of a company, you don’t want to negotiate anything without first knowing a fair amount about the thing that you are after.
3. Opt for face-to-face. If somebody asks for a favor, it's more difficult for most people to say no to them when asked face-to-face. Face-to-face interactions are always more personal.
If you find that YOU are the one negotiating for something that you want, it is beneficial to skip the email, text, or voicemail and instead plan an in person, one-on-one encounter.
Meeting up and negotiating in person gives you the benefit of including the personal touch and expressions in your negotiations.
4. Go in with an open mind. Although you may go in with your mind set on what you
want, realize that that the other person has thoughts of their own that may not directly line up with yours.
Go into negotiations with an open mind. You may not walk out getting exactly
what you want but may instead leave with more of a "give and take" type of agreement.
This is not to say that you shouldn't shoot for the stars. You definitely should. But don’t get
discouraged if, after a concerted negotiation effort, you fall a little short.
You can always walk away from whatever it is if you don't like it, or you can take the compromise and make
another plan in the future to achieve your next goal.
5. Have a Plan B. No matter how hard you try, sometimes best laid plans just don’t work out as we want them to. Any time you go in to negotiations for anything, no matter what the subject, realize that sometimes things just
won’t go the way you want them to.
Always have a Plan B in place so that even if you try and then fail, you have a back up plan to fall back on. Things can’t always go exactly as planned or
hoped, but we can consistently have an alternate plan ready to go when they don’t.
