How to improve your negotiation skills. Tips and examples

Negotiation skills are necessary in every aspect of life, both professional and personal. Whether you are closing a business deal, discussing your salary with an employer or settling a dispute between friends, these skills may consolidate or destroy the outcome.  

This article deals with ways to enhance negotiation skills, provides examples and recommends how to negotiate in the Master’s Degree Program in Marketing & Sales Management (GESCO) offered by ESIC University. This is the only one that focuses on strategic and negotiation skill development. 

What are negotiation skills? 

What is meant by Negotiation Skills? These skills are a form of communication that helps achieve a better understanding between persons in order to close a mutually benefitting deal. They include active listening, persuasive speaking or presentation skills, problem solving and emotional intelligence, among others, thus making them wide-ranging.  

Skilled negotiators know when to be assertive and they can also understand the points of view of others, thus creating an outcome where everyone wins. 

Importance of negotiating skills 

There are various areas in which negotiation skills are important: 

• Conflict resolution: negotiation fosters peace building through shared understanding and finding win-win solutions. 
• Professional growth: good negotiation skills can result in better-paid jobs, more promotions or improved career opportunities that would otherwise be unattainable. 
• Success in business: exceptional negotiators always secure the most favorable terms, paving the way for new territories of expansion such as alliances between firms or signing deals. 
• Building relationships: through negotiations, people learn how to accommodate each other’s views, thus strengthening interpersonal ties. 

Ways to improve negotiating skills 

There are a number of ways to improve your negotiation skills, from improving your communication techniques to mastering the art of persuasion. By implementing these strategies, you will be better prepared to navigate complex discussions, build stronger relationships, and achieve mutually beneficial agreements: 

Make sure you are well prepared 

Successful negotiations start with proper preparation. Find out what the other party wants, and their objectives and limits, as well as your own goals or boundaries. This knowledge will allow you to come up with an action plan and anticipate potential challenges or issues. 

Develop active listening skills 

Active listening is when you give your full attention to a person talking, to make sure you understand their message before responding appropriately. It is an important skill in any negotiation process, since it promotes good relations between the involved parties, thus fostering trust.  

Through active listening, you can find out what others may need from them and thus find common ground with such individuals. 

Be clear and assertive 

When it comes to negotiations, you should be very clear if you want to succeed. To achieve this, air your views in a confident manner while still respecting other people’s opinions. Passive or aggressive communication styles should not be used, since they slow down the bargaining process. 

Enhancing emotional intelligence skills 

Emotional intelligence is the capacity to recognize personal emotions, understand them and manage them appropriately, as well as to respect the feelings of others and show concern towards them. Individuals with high emotional intelligence levels can keep calm in stressful situations, demonstrate empathy for others during negotiation processes and skillfully deal with difficult bargaining situations. 

Concerns, not positions 

It is important that negotiations focus on interests rather than rigid positions. Discovering why each party has adopted a certain point of view can be helpful in generating alternative options for mutual gain. 

If necessary, find a happy medium 

Finding a happy medium is often necessary in order to achieve success in negotiation. Being willing to compromise will help you reach an agreement that is beneficial to both sides. Flexibility and adaptability come into play here as to find a solution that meets the needs of all parties concerned. 

Examples of negotiating skills in action 

Below we look at several examples of negotiating skills in action, demonstrating how they can be applied in real-world scenarios to achieve successful outcomes. Whether you're negotiating a business deal, a salary increase, or a compromise in a personal relationship, mastering these skills can significantly enhance your ability to navigate complex interactions and foster positive relationships: 

Salary negotiation

Salary negotiation means researching industry norms, defining your value in relation to them and demonstrating how your skills and background will contribute to the company’s success. If done well, salary negotiation can result in higher compensation packages and increase job satisfaction. 

Business transaction bargaining 

When bargaining in business transactions, it is important to know what each side wants or needs out of the deal. Effective negotiators find common ground, build relationships and reach agreements that benefit all the parties involved. 

Settling disputes 

Negotiation skills are also required in conflict resolution processes in order to listen to different opinions and come up with a solution that satisfies all those affected by the matter under discussion.  

This may sometimes involve acting as an intermediary between opposing sides; getting them to talk frankly or even identifying areas where they can work together and settle their differences peacefully. 

If you are interested in delving deeper into how to improve your negotiation skills, we encourage you to learn more about our Master’s Degree in Marketing and Sales Management. 

ESIC University’s GESCO program is a Master’s Degree in Marketing and Sales Management. It enables students to develop their strategic thinking and negotiation skills and includes everything from marketing to market research, negotiation tactics and strategies for selling goods or services. Its aim is to provide students with applicable knowledge in any dynamic business context they may find themselves in. 

The hands-on approach of the GESCO program is what sets ESIC University apart from others. Rather than just using theoretical knowledge, this university applies real-life materials and also allows students to apply what they have learned in today’s marketing environment through case studies that give them the necessary skills to deal with the complexities of today’s business world.  

Another reason why you should enroll for this course is because it will give you an edge over your peers, since it imparts the managerial capabilities needed for sales force management and the advertising industry.