Top Ten Negotiation Tactics

TOP TEN Negotiation Tactics - These have been proven on over a thousand federal contracts. These are 10 of the 25 techniques from the "Workshop" http://www.gcexperts.com/workshops.

The skill of negotiation can be likened to acting. In a good movie you'll find yourself seeing the actors as the characters they portray. How are they able to do that? No one is "born" a good actor or actress and no one is a "naturally skilled" negotiator. Becoming "top notch" or an expert in any field requires study, practice and dedication.

When it comes to federal contracting, Your ability to persuade or influence the decision makers will be the ultimate difference between meager or no profits, and high profits.

Having 35+ years experience doing federal construction contracting and now federal government construction contract training, there were numerous times that a procurement official would request a bid or to negotiate a contract or change order. Persuasion skills came into play as each side would converse and develop positions that were in their own best interest. No matter the financial situation, everyone needs to develop highly refined negotiation skills; they are vital to the success of all businesses. Everyone has to start someplace, so if you want to "up your game" and get highly profitable contracts, here are the first 5 of 10 items to master. Study the concepts and scripts, then practice. Over my career I was awarded millions of dollars of highly profitable contracts, many without competition because of a well developed set of negotiation skills. Feel free to add your favorites to the comment section below. FIRST: Start with the right "Mindset" Most things of value that you will acquire will involve negotiations. You'll get a better price on a car or new home if you take the time to study negotiations for those type of products. The same is true for government contracts, especially when it comes to change orders. Accept that the better you become at negotiating, the happier you'll be in life and business. (2) Make sure you are negotiating with the decision maker. Otherwise you may ultimately find out that you were essentially negotiating against yourself. (3) Treat people with respect, particularly with the sound of your voice and your non-verbal posture. No matter the outcome, if you are in business for the long term, it will be far more important that everyone leaves the table with the feeling that they were treated respectfully as a person; not just as someone you were trying to get a better deal from. (4) Never get personally involved. It's been said that all deals are done emotionally and justified intellectually. Taken as fact, it's OK to get the other party emotional about the outcome, but keep it focused on the positive, never the negative. When you go negative, you're much more likely to see the client or customer stop negotiating with you and may even go to your competitor for a solution. (5) Don't let your idea of values enter into the discussions. Focus on the value to the client or customer, increase that value and watch them concede more money to the final agreement. In the next few days, Part 2 of 2 will be posted with numbers 6 through 10. These and 20 other negotiation tactics were utilized in the successful efforts to obtain more than $1 billion worth of high-margin government contracts and they are taught at our Workshop. To see the results of the training, watch a few of the brief videos right here: http://GCExperts.com/workshops Be sure to read the next 5 powerful negotiating tactics coming up in Part 2 by signing in above! Doug Reitmeyer, Email doug@gcexperts.com, Phone 512-750-2677

Testimonial from Frey:

Doug,

Design+Build Group just recently submitted a proposal on a design job (pre-construction services) only to receive an e-mail back from the client saying we were way too high. My heart sank, I got frustrated that we wasted so much time in meetings to put together their bid, and then I remembered the 100K Letter! It works for Doug why not us? We excitedly pulled out the $100K Letter to use as our template, made the necessary changes, and sent it off. I'll go ahead and say now that the result of this proposal is inconsequential. What's important is that we didn't have to back down on our costs to take on an unprofitable project. You've provided us with a way to professionally explain why our proposal was higher than they expected and that in itself is a great burden solved.

Sincerely,

Frey Radfar

Field Manager, Design+Build Group