Remember everyone has the duty to do the best for themselves, there should be no emotion or upset caused if someone disagrees with you on price or another point. That doesn’t mean they won’t get emotional but you never should. In fact, you should never show what you are thinking or feeling in a negotiation – keep them guessing.
Equally you should have no emotion or worry about how you open your bid or present your proposals, if you care so much to be worried you should not be negotiating at all because you will do a bad deal. In the case where you are worried or stressed out before or during a negotiation you should either stop for a break (use the excuse of going to the toilet for example) and compose yourself or get someone else to take over (You have an emergency to deal with).
You should really have your own guidelines for what is a good deal for you, no one else, just for you. You have done your research and you know what you want. This is not a case of “taking the mickey” or seeing what you can get away with – you should really believe in your position, they either give you the deal you want or you should walk away. You should have enough deals on that you don’t need this one so badly anyway.
If you feel like this deal really must be done be prepared to pay more than is good for you, so in short don’t go into negotiations that you really need unless you can put on a good show of hiding your keenness, the alternative is to brief someone you trust with the parameters of the deal you want and send them in with no mandate to alter your laid down terms.
Although most negotiations are about trading concessions until you both have a deal you can live with, you should set yourself limits beyond which you will not go because “there is never a right property for the wrong price”.
Never be intimidated by an air of legitimacy, people try to make everything seemed fixed by writing things down beforehand or presenting things as official, stick to your own research to decide if it is for you and don’t be swayed.
You should of course push on their price and ask for concessions even if they say no, people need to feel they have worked for their deal, if it comes too easily they will start doubting they did a good enough deal.
Imagine if you snapped their hand off at the first price they mention, initially they will be pleased but gradually they will question themselves, “did I miss something”, “could I have got more money” followed by “Yes I could have got more money!” and then they will convince themselves they have done a bad deal. If they can then stop it – they probably will. So make them work for the deal, you will be doing them a favour.
You will value a deal more of you work for it – so will the other side, so do them a favour!
