Searching for a job, interviewing, and getting the position is a stressful process, so it’s not surprising that many people are nervous about asking for more money once they have an offer in hand. The last thing they want is to jeopardize their offer. However, people who negotiate their salary typically increase their starting salary by an average of $5,000. Moreover, most employers expect salary negotiation after an initial job offer. If you have specialized skills or an impressive resume, you could be leaving money on the table. So, consider these helpful tips for negotiating the salary you deserve. 

Familiarize Yourself with Industry Trends

You need to arm yourself with as much information as possible when it comes to salary negotiations. In order to get a current, realistic view of compensation in your field, do some homework and study trends. Job listing sites such as Glassdoor, PayScale, and LinkedIn are a great resource for finding salary ranges. You can also reach out to recruiters to gather insight about average salaries for similar jobs. In addition to finding out average salaries, you should also pay attention to the most in-demand skills for jobs in your field. 

Know Your Value

In order to get the pay you deserve, you must first know what you’re worth. Make a list of your strengths, accomplishments, skills, specialized training, certifications, experience, and any other details that set you apart from other candidates. Have a keen awareness of how your skills can benefit the company’s bottom line. By tying these strengths to your initial offer, you can build a solid case for a salary increase. 

Ask for More Than You Hope to Get

Once you have a salary range in mind, it can be tempting to ask for something in the middle so you don’t come off too forward. However, you should always ask for something toward the top. First off, you should assume you are worth the higher amount. Second, your employer will almost certainly counter the offer so you want to leave a little wiggle room to come up with a salary you are willing to accept. 

Consider the Entire Compensation Package

Money is certainly a huge incentive, but there is often more to a job than just the pay. Before entering into the negotiation, you need to think about what other benefits you would be willing to accept in lieu of a lower salary. Some of these potential benefits would include:

-stock options

-paid vacation days

-flexible working hours

-tuition reimbursement

-professional development

-signing bonus

-remote work opportunities

-opportunities for promotion

Practice Your Delivery

Once you have all the information needed to negotiate, it’s always a good idea to practice the conversation ahead of time. Consider practicing with a colleague, professional mentor, or other business-savvy person who can tell you what to expect and can help coach you through the process. 

It has been said that “failing to prepare is preparing to fail” and this saying certainly applies to negotiation. When it comes to negotiation, there is no guarantee that you will achieve your desired outcome, but not preparing is a recipe for failure. Although many people think of a negotiation as a win/lose proposition in which two parties must fight for what they want, it is actually more of a communication process where both parties work to achieve a mutual result. This can only be achieved through research and preparation. In fact, over 80% of a negotiation outcome is achieved in the pre-negotiation phase, and preparation is the key. While preparation is commonly overlooked, it is vital to success. Here are a few steps to help you prepare for your next business negotiation.

Identify Your Goals

You can’t negotiate if you don’t know what you want. Your first step in preparing for a negotiation is to identify your goals. Are you seeking a good deal? Are you looking to improve your relationship with the other party? Define your goals and know what it is that you want to achieve. Only then can you develop a plan to get there. 

Gather Information

Not only is it important to understand your own goals, but you also need to learn as much as you can about what is motivating your counterpart. Find out what their goals are and identify their pain points. You also want to familiarize yourself with other competitors that might hinder your ability to negotiate with this other party. Instead of focusing solely on yourself and your own goals, be sure to gather insight into the needs of your counterpart so you can improve your chances of reaching a mutually beneficial agreement. 

Brainstorm Options for Mutual Gain

Novice negotiators make the mistake of viewing a negotiation as a discussion that ends with a winner and a loser. One side will “win” and get what they want while the other party will “lose” and give up more than they wanted. However, this mentality does not lead to long-term relationships and success. Instead, it is far more beneficial to seek a mutually beneficial agreement in which both parties end up as “winners.” Therefore, you need to prepare ahead of time by brainstorming options that would be mutually beneficial. Anticipate where you and the other party might come together and be ready to offer these suggestions. 

Identify Your BATNA

Unfortunately, negotiations don’t always go as planned. That’s why every negotiator should prepare a BATNA in advance. This refers to the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. Simply put, it’s like a Plan B. This is what you will need if the negotiations fail to produce your desired outcome. You need to know this ahead of time, so you can live with it should it happen. 

Form a Trading Plan

Negotiations are all about give and take and it’s likely that you will have to give a little in order to get what you want. That’s why you should always prioritize your interests ahead of time and think about what concessions you would be willing to make. In other words, what can you trade and what can you get in return? Always start by trading your least valuable concessions and always make sure you receive something in return. 

Prepare Yourself Mentally

The right attitude towards negotiation can mean the difference between success and failure. Get into the right frame of mind beforehand. Negotiations don’t come easily to most people, so leave spontaneity for the pros. Keep in mind that negotiations can also be stressful and emotional so think about what tactics you will employ to avoid frustration and stay focused on your goals. Finally, know your walk-away point. Bluffing works in poker but it’s quite different at the bargaining table. Be sure you have laid the groundwork for your negotiation ahead of time.

There are several strategies and tips for negotiating and every negotiation is different. However, there is one rule that is helpful in any negotiation and it’s simple: Be prepared. According to negotiation expert, Marc Lockley, 70% of negotiation is preparation. If you are underprepared for a negotiation, the process can drag on with tempers flaring and a long series of back and forth arguments. On the other hand, research and preparation can help you identify opportunities, recognize attractive offers, and help you avoid hidden disasters. To improve your chances of success as well as your relationship with the other party, it pays to do your homework first. 

What Information Should You Know About Who You Are Negotiating With?

Doing your homework means researching as much as you can about the other party beforehand. For instance, if you are negotiating with another business, start with some basic fact-finding such as their website and social media feeds. Look up the company to see who the top executives are and what their company vision is like. Determine their pain points and what is motivating them to negotiate with you. This will help you come up with viable solutions. Finally, find out what they are like to do business with so you can better prepare your strategy. 

Understand the Other Side

Before any negotiations begin, you always need to understand the interests and positions of the other side relative to your own interests and positions. This will help you to spend some time in advance seeing things from their perspective. The more you know about what’s going on in the other person’s mind, the better you will be able to reach an agreement that works for both of you. 

Know What They Want

Much of your preparation will revolve around making them feel like they have “won.” That’s because a truly successful negotiation involves a mutually beneficial relationship. Therefore, you need to find out what is most important to your counterpart beforehand. Are they looking for the best price? Are they interested in service levels? Are they most interested in quality? You should be prepared to cover these points during the negotiation and show them that you can provide their must-haves. 

Learn About Your Competition

Do your homework to find out who your competitors are and what they can offer. Then, determine what sets you apart from them. You should be prepared in case your counterpart brings up a competitor during the negotiation. You need to be ready to show how your offer is different from your competitors. 

Prepare a BATNA

Finally, you need to prepare a BATNA or Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. Even when you do your research, negotiations don’t always go as planned so you need to be ready for the unexpected. Prepare a BATNA ahead of time so you have a Plan B in place if needed. Doing this beforehand ensures that you have a deal you can live with and it also prevents you from making important decisions on the spot.

When most people think about a negotiation, they probably imagine a group of people sitting around a table and arguing until one side finally gives in. However, there is a whole lot more to negotiation than talking. In fact, listening is one of the most overlooked, yet important parts of any negotiation. Active listening is one of the most important skills to learn if you want to succeed in negotiations. Skillful listening can calm tensions, break a deadlock, and get you the information you need to reach mutually beneficial agreements. 

What is Active Listening?

Active listening doesn’t mean simply paying attention while someone else is speaking. It requires an active mind as well as a degree of empathy to help you fully understand what the other person is saying. Active listening is actually a more involved process that can be broken down into three different behaviors: paraphrasing, inquiry, and acknowledgement.

Paraphrase: When someone speaks, it is important to listen first and then repeat it back to make sure you fully understand what was said. For example, you might say something like, “ It sounds like you are happy with the price but you need me to reassure you that this price will not change over time.” Paraphrasing allows you to demonstrate an understanding of exactly what the other person is saying. 

Inquire: After listening to the opposing party, be sure to inquire about how you can reach a solution together. For example, “You mentioned that pricing was an issue. Help me understand why you feel this way and what you think would be reasonable.”

Acknowledge: Finally, let the other person know that you hear them and you genuinely care about their concerns. For example, “It sounds like you have some concerns and I would like to help address those concerns.”

Why is Active Listening So Important in Negotiations?

Active listening is an integral part of negotiating. In fact, it is even more important than talking. Negotiations are based on give and take and an exchange of information so active listening plays a key role in ensuring that all parties understand the information clearly. It is only through listening that you gather pertinent information about the other party such as their needs, problems, concerns, and motivations. Therefore, listening is necessary in order to gather all of the information needed to reach a mutually beneficial solution. 

Listening also helps to create a level of trust and respect with the other party. Imagine a car salesman pitching the newest model to you. He may know all of the specifications and features of the vehicle and really know how to talk it up. Now, imagine a different salesman asking you about your needs and why you are looking for a vehicle? Which salesperson are you more likely to work with? Chances are you would prefer the salesperson that asked about your needs. That’s because listening to the needs of others shows a deeper level of understanding, empathy, and genuine concern. You are more likely to trust someone who is putting your needs first rather than someone who is only looking out for themselves. Listening is the key to developing that trust and building a more solid professional relationship. 

For many years, salespeople have asked the same question in negotiation seminars: Who should make the first offer? The typical response for years was, “let the other side go first.” The reasoning behind this was simple:  You don’t want to make an offer only to find out later that you could have done better. However, studies have shown that this strategy is actually ineffective. If you want to become a more effective negotiator, you need to learn the powerful psychology of anchoring. The Anchor Rule states that the number a person sees or hears before making a guess influences that guess. In other words, the outcome of a negotiation is highly driven by that first offer, and this is called anchoring. 

What is Anchoring and Why Does it Work?

Anchoring refers to a strategy in which one party makes the first offer in hopes of determining the outcome of the negotiation. This strategy has been tested over and over again and the results are almost always the same: the person who makes the first offer controls the outcome of the negotiation. If you let the other party make the first offer, there’s a high probability that their first offer will not be their best. However, this number is now the standard by which the rest of the negotiation will be based. So, why would you let someone else determine the kind of deal you will make. No one knows what deal is best for you other than you. 

Most business people have never heard of anchoring and are not familiar with the way it impacts a negotiation. Therefore, it is common for a salesperson to get anchored right away by the other party. Instead of allowing this to happen, it is important to recognize the tactic and put a stop to it right away. 

How to Overcome Anchoring in Negotiations

Do Your Research: Take the time to adequately prepare for the negotiation and research the background of the other party. Make sure you understand what is motivating them and find out their financial position so you know what they can and cannot afford. Additionally, take some time to find out what your competitors are offering and keep that in mind when negotiating pricing. 

Propose a Counter-Anchor: The goal of a counter-anchor is to immediately respond and discredit the first offer before countering with your ideal price. For example, say your counterpart offers $20,000 for your service but you cannot accept anything less than $30,000. Before countering with a different dollar amount, make it known that their offer is far lower than you can accept. Explain your reasoning and the value that they will be getting and then share the price that you would like. This establishes a new anchor and moves the negotiation in the right direction. 

Reject the Anchor Price: In some cases, you will find that the other party is not willing to budge on their offer and in this case you should politely reject the anchor. When you reject the anchor, ask if you can revisit this conversation after they have had more time to think about it. You can also start over and discuss a different offer or set of terms that better align with their budget. This provides an opportunity for both parties to reexamine their goals so they can move forward.

In recent years, the case for inclusivity in the workplace has grown stronger than ever. These days, companies are paying much more attention to inclusion and diversity, and for good reason. Recent studies have shown that businesses in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are more likely to have above average profitability than companies in lower quartiles. By incorporating inclusion strategies, you are not only promoting a more positive work culture, you are also taking steps to outperform your less diverse peers. Here are just a few ways you can demonstrate a true commitment to inclusion. 

Educate Your Leaders

As with anything else, change happens from the top and inclusion is no exception. If your organization truly wants to meet the needs of a more diverse and inclusive work environment, it begins with educating the leaders. That’s why it is recommended that companies hold mandatory training for people at executive levels. It should include information regarding what inclusion is and why it is important. Then, as a small group, these leaders can discuss strategies for fostering inclusivity within their company. More importantly, they can learn to lead by example. 

Form an Inclusion Team

Consider establishing an inclusion team of at least 8-10 influential leaders who are dedicated and committed to inclusion. You need people who have status within the organization and are willing to advocate for inclusivity in the workplace. This group should be involved in goal-setting focused on hiring, retaining, and advancing a more diverse workforce. They should also meet to review challenges, address issues, and handle any employee engagement issues. 

Celebrate Employee Differences

One of the best ways to show employees that you support their backgrounds, traditions, and differences is to invite them to share their culture and tradition with others. For example, you could host a potluck luncheon to represent different nationalities. You can provide a meditation or prayer room to support religious diversity. You can observe and celebrate holidays and traditions from around the world. The idea is to create an environment where employees feel proud of who they are. 

Develop a Training Program

Diversity training is not only for the leaders and executives, but it is important for everyone within an organization. Diversity training helps employees understand how cultural differences can impact how people work and interact with one another. Companies should focus on training that is relevant to their specific organization and that aligns with their company mission. 

Mix Up Your Teams

A key part of diversity is learning from people with different voices, experiences, values, and cultures. A diverse cross-section of talent is more likely to yield better results than a team of similar like-minded individuals. Therefore, teams should be made up of different genders, cultures, ages, and backgrounds in order to produce innovative ideas and multiple perspectives. 

Create a Safe Environment

Finally, it is important to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion because it establishes a stronger sense of community and creates an environment where employees feel safe being themselves. Encourage and embrace employee differences and set high standards for all employees to treat each other with respect.

There used to be a time when business models were built on closing sales and beating out competitors. While this may have worked in the past, today’s customers are looking for more. They want relationships, experiences, and a business that benefits society as a whole. Despite these business challenges, there are new ways to win customers. With the right planning and decision making, winning can become a reality. Here are some tips and strategies for winning customers despite your business challenges.

Identify Your Target Customer

In order to build a profile of potential customers, you need to have a good idea of who those customers are and how you can reach them. In order to figure out your target customers, think about who would be most likely to use your product or service. Identify things like a target age group, gender, profession, etc. Then, analyze exactly what they want and how you can lure them. 

Identify Customer Pain Points

The next step is to identify customer pain points and how your product or service can help solve these problems. Knowing pain points allows you to tailor your message and communicate more effectively the benefits of your business. 

Make It Personal

Personalization is one of the most popular current marketing trends. Research has revealed that customers are seeking a more personalized shopping experience. There are various ways to achieve this personalization. For starters, you can develop customer profiles to gather information about your typical customer’s needs, wants, and expectations. You can also interact with your customers through social media channels to provide immediate support. You should seek regular feedback from customers and train employees to provide more personalized customer service. 

Provide Live Customer Engagement

You can make the buying process easier and more enjoyable by communicating with customers via live engagement. There are a number of tools such as video chat, voice chat, and product demos that can make interacting with customers easier and more effective. This method of communication is more likely to win over customers. 

Build Trust with Clients

It’s not enough to simply drum up new business leads. In order to build your brand, you also need to focus on building strong relationships with existing clients. You can build lasting relationships by providing timely responses and communication, personalizing your services, showing appreciation, including customers in your business vision, and exceeding customer expectations. 

As a business professional, there are times when you need to influence others to perform certain tasks, support decisions, or even purchase your product or service. You have probably found yourself in situations where you are selling ideas, seeking support, or asking for something. In order to achieve your goals, you need to be able to persuade your audience to accept your influence tactics. How can you do this effectively? The degree to which you influence and persuade the other party will determine how successfully you sell your ideas. Therefore, consider these tips for effectively persuading your audience during a negotiation. 

Step One: Establish Credibility

Credibility is incredibly important to the art of persuasion because people are more likely to be persuaded by someone they trust. Credibility consists of two factors: (1) your level of expertise (2) your relationships.  If you demonstrate a genuine knowledge of your subject matter, your audience is likely to associate what you are saying with truth. For example, if you talk to a car salesman who is extremely knowledgeable about the features of various cars, you are more likely to trust what he is saying. Expertise is the first step in building credibility, so spend time learning as much as you can about your subject matter before your negotiation. 

Relationship building is another important factor in establishing credibility. If your audience sees that you have a good relationship with people they already trust and respect, the more likely they will be to respect you as well- and find you credible. 

Step Two: Involve the Audience

People are motivated by things that matter to them which is why their involvement in the process is so important. People will be more attentive if the topic is relevant to their self-interest. Therefore, tailor the conversation to discuss why the particular subject, idea, or product that you are pitching will be valuable to your audience. Make them realize that what you are arguing is for their benefit. A great way to do this is by conducting a demonstration and asking your audience to participate. It’s much easier to persuade an audience when they see for themselves how your idea can benefit them. 

Step Three: Provide Evidence

Another important persuasion technique is showing evidence. People are more likely to be persuaded when you present real evidence that what you are trying to convince them to support actually works. Evidence could be in the form of numbers and statistics. It could also be a physical demonstration. For example, this carpet cleaner works and I’ll show you. 

Step Four: Make an Emotional Connection with Your Audience 

The final step in persuading your audience is to connect with them on an emotional level. Research has shown that decision-making is an emotional process so you want to appeal to emotions through illustrative language and even storytelling. It’s also important to get to know your audience on a more personal level. Find common ground such as sports, hobbies, family, or some other personal connection. You want to see your audience as human and you want to make yourself more approachable as well. Oftentimes people are persuaded simply because they like you, and not always because they are completely sold on your product or idea. Remember that you are selling yourself as much as your idea, so seek ways to connect emotionally with your audience. 

The ability to negotiate successfully is a must-have skill in today’s competitive business world. There are many occasions when you may find yourself in a situation where you have to negotiate, so it’s important to know the secrets to success. Here are a few tried and true tips for successful negotiations in any profession. 

1. Build a Strong Personal Relationship

Imagine a random person telling you to buy this new coffee maker for $200 because it is worth it. Chances are, you will assume they are just trying to sell you on something. Now, imagine your best friend tells you the same thing. How would your reaction differ? A positive relationship can have a huge impact on how we perceive things because it engages feelings of trust. The same is true for both personal and professional relationships. People tend to accept more when it is suggested by someone they trust. Therefore, spend some time creating a strong bond before meeting the other party. Chat over the phone, send a few emails, maybe even meet in person for coffee prior to the negotiation. Think about the long term benefits of a positive relationship. 

2. Gather Information

Before entering into a negotiation, you need to arm yourself with as much information as possible. Learn everything you can about the other party including their motivations for the negotiation, their pain points, who you are competing against, and what the other party is hoping to gain out of the negotiation. You also need to know your own position, strengths, and weaknesses as well as those of your opponent. 

3. Know What You Want to Achieve Before You Begin

A successful negotiator knows what they want before they even begin the discussion. They also know what they will not accept, or their walk away point. Be realistic about your goals, as you are unlikely to get everything you want. Rather, prioritize your needs versus your wants and know in advance what is most important to you and what parts you are willing to concede. 

4. Listen More and Talk Less

You may not realize that your affinity for talking could be costing you a successful negotiation. The balance of talking and listening during negotiations is extremely important. The most effective way is to spend 70% of  your time listening and only 30% talking. Active listening allows you to really hear what your opponent is saying so you can truly understand their needs. Only through listening can you analyze the facts to make informed decisions. 

5. Always Seek a Win-Win Outcome

All too frequently people think of negotiations as having a winner and a loser. Successful negotiators, however, see negotiation as an opportunity for both sides to win. The ultimate goal of a negotiation should be to establish a win-win solution for all parties. When everyone benefits, everyone walks away happy and you will have created a positive relationship with your opponent. This increases the likelihood of them doing business again with you in the future. 

6. Have a Plan B

You should be prepared with a backup plan because there is always a chance that things may not work according to what you planned. Contingency planning allows you to be prepared for the unexpected so you can avoid making a deal you might regret. It also prevents you from feeling panicked in unfavorable situations. 

As the year comes to an end and companies are closing out their final quarter, they are starting to assess their plans for the new work year. This is when businesses adjust procedures and set goals to ensure they are on track to stay the course for the upcoming fiscal year. It is incredibly important for businesses to make smart decisions today to ensure positive results in the future. Here we will take a look at 10 tips for keeping your business on track. 

1. Assess Your Finances

In order to ensure the growth of your business, you must first deal with your finances. It can be helpful to enlist the help of professionals who can offer advice surrounding lending and contingency planning so you can make sure you are on the right track as far as your financial planning. Just as people hire finance professionals to handle their personal finances, the same is recommended for businesses. The knowledge and expertise of experienced financial professionals are fundamental to keeping your business on track. 

2. Consider Your Competitors

In addition to looking into your own company, it’s also important to assess the successes and failures of your competitors so you can get a better idea of what works and what doesn’t. Find out what they are doing right or wrong in order to boost your own brand. It’s competition analysis that often leads to innovation.

3. Maintain an Online Presence

No matter what industry you are in, it is important to have an online presence. The internet is a great way to connect with, engage, inform, and communicate with your target audience. In addition to having an informative and engaging website, you can use the power of social media to reach new audiences and drive traffic to your website. 

4. Set Goals and Benchmarks

It is imperative that you have clear goals and objectives if you want to achieve progress. It is equally important to develop benchmarks with which you can measure your progress. These goals should be shared with your entire organization and the benchmarks can be used to motivate and incentivize your team. 

5. Eliminate the Unnecessary

Part of assessing your performance for the year includes identifying what didn’t work. This is the time to eliminate any products or services that didn’t sell as well as projects or campaigns that didn’t see the desired results. In order to stay on track for the next year, start by eliminating the things that didn’t work so you can make room for something new. In addition, cut out the fat by eliminating unnecessary equipment that you could sell or trade-in. Finally, although it’s not the most attractive part of running a business, it’s sometimes necessary to eliminate positions or let go of employees if they don’t bring value to your bottom line. 

6. Recruit Good Talent

At the end of the day, it’s the employees that really contribute to the ultimate success of a business. Therefore, invest in recruiting good talent. It’s important to think beyond the short term, and look to the future when filling roles. Look for candidates who possess the right skills that will benefit the company over time. 

7. Conduct Regular Reviews

The world of business is dynamic and there will always be changes to the market. This means you will constantly need to change your marketing strategies and adjust your business plans to meet the demand of the changing market. The only way to ensure that your company is moving in the right direction is by conducting regular reviews of your business model. 

8. Research Opportunities for Growth

Stay attune to happenings within your industry and stay up to date with your industry’s latest trends. This is where you will gain knowledge and find unique opportunities for growth. Learn as much as you can about your industry and your competitors so you can discover new ideas and strategies for growing your business. 

9. Assess Your Marketing Strategy

The end of the year is a good time to evaluate growth for the year. If you had a tough time bringing on new business and attracting new customers, it may be time to look at a new marketing strategy. Assess your target audience and adjust your marketing strategy as needed to reach your target market. 

10. Embrace Change

While it’s certainly important to set goals for the new year, it’s also important to remember that change is inevitable. You may need to change your strategy or rebrand your business if that’s what it takes to remain current and relevant. A successful business is one that embraces change and adapts accordingly. The ability to be flexible can help you jump at unforeseen opportunities.