In Sales training programmes, negotiation skills are often missed altogether. One might say that the reason most of us feel the need to negotiate with others is so that we can find a way to get what we want. Being human, we all believe that our opinion is very important and that everyone else should at least consider seeing things our way. If you had no desires or needs, there would be little reason for you to negotiate with others.

If sales courses don't always teach persuasion skills, how then can you convince other people to favourably consider your suggestions?

Believe it or not, there is a science backed up by more than 60 years of research that has informed our knowledge of the use of persuasion to meet our needs and desires in sales negotiation. The world's leading authority on the science of persuasion, Dr Robert Cialdini, has identified 6 principles of persuasive communications in his research work:

Reciprocation
Liking
Commitment & Consistency
Authority
Scarcity
Social Proof

Whilst persuasion will always be an art, it is really helpful to use the power of the 6 principles discovered by scientific investigation to maximise your odds of persuading others to give you what you really want.

Let's start by examining at what I believe to be the most important principle from a negotiation point of view - reciprocation.

Reciprocation means that we return to others the form of behaviour that they demonstrate towards us. If you have done me a favour, then I should do you a favour. If you invite me to your birthday party, then I should invite you to my birthday party. If you make a concession to me, then I should make a concession to you.

So what does this mean to you and how can you employ it to get what you need?

Here's how:

Make sure that when you start a negotiation you ask for a little more than you would like to receive.

Let's say you are selling a widget and you are planning to get $ 100 for the widget.

If you want to deploy the principle of reciprocation, then you should commence by asking for a little more - let's say by requesting $ 105.

If your counterparty does not agree to handing over $ 105 for the widget, then you are able to extend a concession by reducing your asking price to $ 100 in return for your counterparty also making a concession to you. A concession that your counterparty could make in this case could be to pay you cash on the spot or to pay for shipping etc.

The key is for you to make the concession - don't wait for your counterparty to offer a concession. Just make sure that you use the word 'if' when you make your concession:

"If you are prepared to hand over the cash right now, then I could reduce the price from $ 105 to $ 100". This way you give an indication to your counterparty that you are willing to be flexible and you will now significantly enhance the likeliness of them also being flexible and offering a concession in return.

Just be sure to use this principle 'in the moment' whilst you are negotiating. If you went away from a negotiation to review your proposal, your counterparty will be more likely to regard your amended offer as a new proposal, not as a concession.

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