Negotiating 101

Just a few days ago , a close friend of mine came to me for advice because apparently, his pay was nothing to write home about. And to add to that, he had been working for about two months now with no pay. However,he’s expected to show up to work everyday and give his best like every other person at work. The problem here is that, the agreed amount to be payed to him every month wasn’t even enough and to make matters worse, he wasn’t even getting payed. How was he going to survive in this situation and give his best at work?

His plan was to quit the job but what I told him was to sit down with his boss and negotiate because personally, I believe everything is negotiable. I say this because growing up, I saw how my mom and others around me negotiated their way around everything. Is it buying clothes, foodstuff, gadgets or even sealing that contract? They would negotiate their way out like it was nothing.

In todays world where most people are out to dupe others, negotiating skills are one that would come in handy to you any day, anytime. Once, I went to the market to get a charger for my phone and funny enough, the guy mentioned price that was twice what I knew. I started to negotiate because I knew I was being duped and eventually we ended up settling even below the price I knew. One trick these people use is overpricing their goods for about twice the normal price because they know customers would obviously want things at a cheaper price. In this case, one you start to ask for a lower price, they agree with a price that would favor both parties. Thus, a win win situation for us all.

Most people I have encountered so far are scared or sometimes reluctant to negotiate things out. One thing I’ve learnt for training sessions and being an entrepreneur is to negotiate your way out of things that don’t favor. Be it work or whatever contract you’re dealing with. You don’t always have to be the bigger person in some cases. Once something doesn’t work in your favor, negotiate your way out and you’d be glad you did because in this harsh world, no one is coming to save you. Save yourself because it consumes you.

The art of negotiation isn’t a one day thing. It takes time and a lot of tries to master it. Even today, that person you think is good at negotiating isn’t that good as you think. You’re just not good at it and that’s why you think that way about them. The only way to master such skills is to be open to learn from others. Pay close attention, be open minded and be always open to learn and give things a try. The best way to be good at something is to practice because practice makes perfect.

So, practice, practice, practice and practice some more. And one day, you’ll thank yourself that you did.

all images belong to me.