Honing Your Workplace Negotiation Skills

@kitcomgenesis #LavaCon
Honing Your Workplace
Negotiation Skills
Jack Molisani, ProSpring Technical Staffing
Kit Brown-Hoekstra, Comgenesis, LLC
@jackmolisani #LavaCon

About the Speakers
@kitcomgenesis #LavaCon@jackmolisani #LavaCon
• President, ProSpring Technical Staffing
• Executive Director, Lavacon
• STC Fellow
• Author, Be the Captain of Your Career
• Former Air Force Officer
• 30+ years of experience
• Background in computer forensics
• Foodie and awesome cook
• Principal, Comgenesis, LLC
• STC Fellow and Immediate Past President
• Co-author of book on managing virtual teams
• 25+ years of experience
• Background in life sciences and localization
• Blog: www.pangaeapapers.com
• Traveler, animal lover, outdoors enthusiast

About You
• Favorite quote (movie, book, etc.)?
• What type of negotiation do you engage in most
frequently at work?
• What is one thing you want to learn during the
workshop?
• How do you feel when you think about
negotiation?

Agenda
Time Topic
800 – 815 Introductions
815 – 830 Definitions
830 – 1000 Do Your Research
• Position vs Interest
• Options
• BATNA
• Objective Standards
1000 – 1015 BREAK
1015 – 1030 Discussion
1030 – 1100 Package the Proposal
1100-1145 Ready, Set, Negotiate
1145-1200 Wrap-Up

Latin negotiatio < Latin negotiatio
(“the carrying on of business,
a wholesale business”) < negotiari
(“to carry on business”)

• To attempt to come to an agreement
on something through discussion and
compromise (Dictionary.com)
• The process of achieving agreement
through discussion (Wiktionary.com)
• Conferring, discussing, or bargaining
to reach agreement (Websters)

Negotiation is the art of giving up
as little of what you have in order to get
what you want.
--From Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In

Collaborative Problem-Solving

Principled Negotiation
Aspect Actions
People Separate people from the problem
Interests Focus on interests, not positions
Options Invent multiple options looking for mutual gains before
deciding what to do
Criteria Insist that the result be based on some objective
standard

Basics
• One negotiates to get to a common
agreement
• Either Win-Win or Lose-Lose
– A sale: The buyer got the product (or service) they
wanted at a price they could afford, the seller still
made a profit
– A war: Split the territory in dispute. Neither side is
happy, but it’s better than fighting

Criteria for Successful Negotiation
• Wise Agreement
– Conflicts resolved
– Fair
– Durable
– Community interests considered
• Efficient
• Improved (or at least no harm to) relationship

Find Your People & Negotiate with Them

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Look for Areas of Agreement

Do Your Research

Do Your Research
• Do your homework
• Find out what the going rate is on
the market (buying or selling)
• Set your success criteria: what’s
great, what’s acceptable, when to walk
away
• Build rapport

How Big Is Your Pie?
Photo: http://www.kitchen208.com/pi-e-day/

Is It the Right Pie?

Size of the Pie
Net Benefit minus the share each party
could achieve on their own = size of pie
Example
Net Benefit = $100
Party A = $15
Party B = $45
$40

Can You Make the Pie Bigger?

Do You Have the Right Ingredients?

Does Everyone Want the Same Parts?

Positions
2009 Copenhagen, Jack Challem

Interests
Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs

http://wantwords.co.uk/school/why-translate/

How Do We Reframe the
Questions?
Original
1. How do we cut costs?
2. How do we fix the
communication issues?
3. How do we make customer-
focused decisions?
4. We don’t have enough time to
do our work.
5. We’re presenting it wrong.
Appreciative
1. How do we build efficient
systems?
2. How do we facilitate
communication?
3. How can we create success for
our customers?
4. We want to create a flexible,
agile work environment.
5. We can create great
presentations.

Photo: https://face2faceafrica.com/article/crossroads-poem#.VFRvEWclGTM
Develop Multiple Paths & Options

The Lesson of the Kobeyashi Maru

BATNA
Best
Alternative
To
Negotiated
Agreement

Use Objective Standards

Discussion

Packaging

Negotiating: Give and Take
• Most people consider making and
receiving concessions as part of the
negotiation process
• Some people would rather say,
“Just give me your best offer” and take
it or leave it.
• But most people expect you to give up
something, or they won’t feel you are
negotiating in good faith.

Negotiating: Give and Take
• So add things to your “wish list” that you are
willing to negotiate away.
• That way you can make concessions while
still preserving what’s important to you.
• What do you think would happen if you asked
for only the exact things you want?
• Plus, they might just say “OK” and give you
everything you asked for!

Keep Your Options Open
• Part of your homework can include getting
bids/offers/estimates from other parties
• You can then say, “XYZ offered me _____,
can you match that?”
• That can be used as a good closing
technique.
• It is easy to walk away from a negotiation
if you have a better offer elsewhere.

Ready, Set, Negotiate

Opening Offers: Theirs
• When possible, let the other side make
the opening offer.
• That is the first insight you get into
what they have in mind as a fair price.
• This lets you know if the deal is even
worth pursuing.

Opening Offers: Theirs
• Warning: People who try to talk you
down to some ridiculous price
saying “you’ll make it up in volume”
or “I can pay you more on the next
job” are not Your People!

Opening Offers: Yours
• There will be times when you will
have to make the opening offer, such
as stating your bill rate or salary
expectations in an interview.
• I have a rule of thumb: The better the
interview went, the higher the number I
quote when they ask for my bill rate.

• However, I always add a qualifier in
case I needed to backpedal.
• I say, “My normal bill rate is $xx/hr…”
and then watch their reaction.

• If they accept my rate without
hesitation, I make a mental note to raise
my rates!
• But if they react negatively, I can
quickly add, “…but I’m flexible given
that this is a long-term contract [given
the state of the economy, etc.].”

• If they react negatively and I have to
backpedal, I also add, “What bill rate
did you have in mind…?”
• I have found that even when people say
they didn’t have a bill rate in mind, they
really did. They just didn’t want to tell
me until they heard what I was going to
say first.

• Perhaps the number with which you
opened was out of range for a
Technical Writer but might be in range
for a Senior Technical Writer.
• In that case you are now negotiating
seniority and title, not just salary!

Handling Objections
• Be able to defend your numbers:
– What value do you add?
– Have you saved your company money?
– Have you made your company money?
– Increased customer satisfaction?
– Why should a company pay you what
you want?
– The employer’s viewpoint: WIIFM?

• Negotiation is the art of giving up as
little of what you have in order to get
what you want.
• Take time to build rapport with the other
party.
• Decide before you start what you want,
what you are willing to give up, and
when to walk away.

• When possible let the other party make
the opening offer.
• Be able to defend your numbers and
estimates.
• When possible, negotiate project scope,
not your bill rate.
• Go for a Win-Win agreement.

• Remember to ask questions in a
negotiations (including interviews).
• You cannot address their concerns
unless you know what they are.
• Find and negotiate with Your People.

Resources
• Campbell, Chellie. 2006 Zero to Zillionaire: 8 Foolproof Steps to Financial Peace of Mind.
ISBN-13: 978-1402206191
• Fisher, R and Ury, W. 2011. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In. New York:
Penguin Press. ISBN: 978-0-14-311875-6
• Reilly, Leo. 1997 How to Outnegotiate Anyone. ASIN: B005N9G5CK
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXFpOWDAhvM&feature=share
• http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/08/hiring-interview-gender-gap-pay-salary-
history-opm/400835/
• https://www.dailyworth.com/posts/3784-how-to-get-credit-for-your-work/2
• http://www.taketheleadwomen.com/blog/salary-negotiation-advice-changed-life/
• Coursera course on negotiation: https://www.coursera.org/learn/negotiation/home/welcome
• http://tomtriumph.com/2014/03/no-bad-deals-6-essential-negotiation-skills-to-increase-
effectiveness/

Contact Info
• Jack@ProspringStaffing.com
• www.LavaCon.org
• www.ProspringStaffing.com
• Twitter: @JackMolisani
• Kit.brown@comgenesis.com
• www.comgenesis.com
• Blog: www.pangaeapapers.com
• Twitter: @kitcomgenesis

Honing Your Workplace Negotiation Skills

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