If you find yourself turning into a nervous wreck during any sort of negotiation – salary, contract, a freelance project – here are some tips that will come in handy.
Be Prepared: Fear and nervousness are directly proportionate to how unprepared you are for the negotiation. Preparation takes many forms:
- Arm yourself with information about who you are meeting.
- Do your maths/get your facts. For eg. If you are negotiating on a project for let’s say an event – know how much other event companies charge, what is the amount of work you can expect from this client, what your costs will be, how much margin you will finally make, the taxes you will have to pay and so on.
Preparation will give you confidence. You will be able to make your position stronger if you lace your statements with facts rather than empty arguments.
Work towards a win-win and not a win: We look at negotiation as an all out war and the fact that we have to win. However, a good negotiation has to make both parties feel they have won.
When you prepare, try to figure out what the other party wants most out of the deal. Also be very clear on what you want out of the deal. Be ready to give a little. Your relationship will work only if both parties are happy with the deal.
Set a minimum bar: In your head, be clear on the amount below which you will not go. There could be many reasons for this. Economic feasibility should be an important consideration here . Sometimes we take on a project at zero and even negative return because we feel it will open a door for us. But mostly, once you do that, it is very difficult for you to raise prices/demand a higher salary because you have set a low bar for the increment and it is now an infinite loop of low amounts. It will also leave you frustrated and you may not give your best because you know you are not making revenue that is justified for all the work you are putting in.
This requires some bit of home work which is good. It is also a direct corollary of Point 1. Your minimum bar should be well calculated and not just some number pulled out of thin air.
Be prepared to walk away: When it doesn’t make you happy, when it is not economically feasible, when the work required is not justified. Especially when it doesn’t meet your minimum bar.
I recently did a YouTube video on breaking out of your comfort zone. Have you watched it yet? Also, don’t forget t subscribe to my YouTube channel for some inspiration and learning.