Thread by @thealoade

As a #freelancer, you need to be good at the skill you provide, BUT you also need to be good at many other things including Negotiations!

Here are 10 negotiation techniques that can make you a better, more confident negotiator.

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Before the thread, the number one rule of negotiation is:

Don't go to the negotiation table if you are not prepared to walk away.

Now that that's out of the way we can continue👇.
Might be a long one so grab a cup of coffee or something ☕️

1.Prepare!
Enter a negotiation without proper preparation and you’ve already lost. Make sure you are clear on what you really want out of the arrangement. Research the other side to better understand their needs, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Enlist help from experts

Questions to ask yourself to be prepared:
-What am I hoping to get out of this?
-What am I willing to compromise?
-Do I have a solid argument?
-Are my asks reasonable?
-What are the best and worst-case scenarios?
-How is the other party likely to respond?

2. Pay attention to timing.
Timing is important. Sure, you must know what to ask for and be sensitive to when you ask for it. There are times to press ahead, and times to wait. When you are looking your best is time to press for what you want. Don't push too hard tho.

3. Leave behind your ego
The best negotiators either don’t care or don’t show they care about who gets credit for a successful deal. Their talent is in making the other side feel like the final agreement was all their idea.

4. Ramp up your listening skills
Encourage the other side to talk first. That helps set up one of negotiation’s oldest maxims: whoever mentions numbers first, loses. While that’s not always true, it’s better to sit tight and let the other side go first. It gives you time to think

5. If you don’t ask, you don’t get
Another tenet of negotiating is, “Go high, or go home.”
As part of your preparation, define your highest justifiable price. As long as you can argue convincingly, don’t be afraid to aim high. But no ultimatums, please.

6.Anticipate compromise
Expect to make compromises and plan what they might be.Ofc,the other side is thinking the same,so never take the first offer even if it’s better than you’d hoped for,practice your best look of disappointment and decline;you never know what else you can get

7.Offer and expect commitment
The glue that keeps deals from unraveling is an unshakable commitment to deliver. You should offer this comfort level to others. Likewise, avoid deals where the other side does not demonstrate commitment.

8.Don’t absorb their problems
In most negotiations, you will hear all of the other side’s problems and reasons they can’t give you what you want. They want their problems to become yours, but don’t let them. Try to solve them.

Deal with the problems or reasons they throw at you, If their “budget” is too low, for example, maybe there are other places that money could come from. Or if they say your prices are too high you can refer to your portfolio or point to the general market and compare your price.

You are being paid to offer a service that will make them money or solve a problem they have, people will pay for what they value. An owner of a business might want you to make a website for them and they don't want to spend more than $1,000 but they drive a BMW...

9.Stick to your principles.
As an individual and a business owner, you likely have a set of guiding principles and values that you just won’t compromise. If you find negotiations crossing those boundaries, it might be a deal you can live without.

10.Close with confirmation.
At the close of any meeting (even if no final deal is struck) recap the points covered and any areas of agreement. Make sure everyone confirms! Follow-up with appropriate letters or emails. Do not leave behind loose ends.