Negotiating: 10 ways to get better results

Negotiating isn’t extraordinary, of course. It’s something that most of us do many times each day, whether formally or informally, in our business or personal lives.

Some of us are natural negotiators, while others struggle. However, negotiating isn’t simply a question of enforcing our will to get what we want.

Sometimes you get more than you expected; sometimes you have to settle for less than you wanted

Negotiating involves trying to reach agreement. Sometimes you get more than you expected; sometimes you have to settle for less than you wanted. Negotiating is about finding a solution that’s acceptable to both parties, which is why some negotiations take so long or why they ultimately prove fruitless.

So, what’s the key to getting better results when negotiating?

1 Be well-prepared

Proper preparation is key. You must know what you want from the negotiation, what your alternatives are and what you’ll concede if asked. You also should try to understand what the other party wants, what they’d give up and what their other options are. Ahead of the negotiation, practice answering any questions you’re likely to be asked and make sure you can back up all claims you’ll make, because it could strengthen your negotiating position.

What works in some cases may not work in others, so take time to decide the right approach 

2 Use the right negotiating strategy

Good knowledge of the other party can enable you to know how best to approach the negotiation. Your strategy will be slightly or entirely different for different people and situations. What works in some cases may not work in others, so take time to decide the right approach to take in each instance. 

3 Choose the right time and place

You need somewhere free of interruptions, where both parties can talk openly. Make sure there’s enough time for the negotiation, so that deadline can’t be used against you. Very early on, explain what you hope to achieve, but don’t reveal concessions you’re prepared to make, because these must be negotiated.

4 Believe in yourself

Lack of confidence will undermine you when negotiating. If you’ve prepared well, know what you want and have a sound strategy, you should feel confident. Also make sure that your appearance and body language is right. Be firm but fair when negotiating. Speak clearly and with authority, but remain open to questions and comments.

Don’t issue ultimatums or allow things to get heated. Stay cool and don’t take things too personally

5 Stay calm and keep it friendly

Negotiations should be friendly, with both sides professional, polite and respectful. The tone shouldn’t be adversarial – aim to build bridges not walls. Don’t issue ultimatums or allow things to get heated. Stay cool and don’t take things too personally – even if the other party is rude or overly dominant. Smile and stay focused.

6 Be a good listener

You must carefully consider the other person’s point of view if you’re to reach an agreement. Don’t talk at or over them, instead, seek to create and sustain a good conversation. Also be patient, because negotiating can take time, especially when matters are complex or the stakes are high. During the conversation, if you don’t understand any points, seek clarification.

Don’t allow yourself to be bullied into revealing your bottom line too early on

7 Be prepared for negotiating tactics

Experienced negotiators employ various tactics, especially when buying or selling. Be prepared for someone to play tough, but don’t allow it to affect your confidence or determination. Don’t allow yourself to be bullied into revealing your bottom line too early on. There should be some room to negotiate on the other party’s opening offer.

8 Concede ground when necessary

But ask for something in return. So, if they want a cheaper price, agree only if they buy more from you. If they want more credit, try to ask for a higher price. Where possible, avoid giving concessions unless you get something in return. And never appear desperate, because it can weaken your position severely.

Drive a hard bargain, but remember – the deal must be fair for both parties, if the relationship is to last 

9 Seek concessions when possible

If you feel you’re in strong position and close to agreement, try asking for concessions, but only if they offer real value for your business. If you’re buying, by all means drive a hard bargain, but remember – the deal must be fair for both parties, if the relationship is to last. 

10 Walk away if you can’t agree

No deal really is probably better than a bad deal. If you want to consider an offer, ask for more time. If no agreement looks likely after there has been sufficient time to talk, politely end the negotiations and part on good terms. They might later make more concessions to rekindle your interest. If you can’t come to an agreement that works for your business – explore other available options.

• Blog written by Dead Good Content founder, Mark Williams.

Bake Off business lessons: What are the key ingredients for success?

We love The Great British Bake Off in our house. We tune in every week. Reportedly, more than 10.8m viewers watched the first episode of the 11th series when it aired in September (6.9m viewers watched it live, the rest caught it on, erm, catch-up). It was Channel 4’s biggest broadcast since 1985.

The BAFTA-winning show was produced for the BBC before moving to Channel 4. And in case you’re not a fan, it stars no-nonsense master baker Paul Hollywood and fellow judge, food writer Prue Leith (who replaced British cookery royalty Mary Berry). Comedians Noel Fielding and new boy Matt Lucas provide the laughs.

Competing over ten weeks for the much coveted “UK’s Best Amateur Baker” crown are 12 non-professionals. Each week they attempt different baking styles and methods, creating  “Signature”, “Technical” and “Showstopper” bakes along the way. One contestant is named “Star Baker” by the judges, while another must leave the show, until one wins the final episode.

Smutty innuendo is a key reason why viewers love Bake Off. But among the “soggy bottoms” and bun and bap double entrendres, the GBBO offers many valuable lessons for business owners. Such as…

1 Good time management is essential

Not a single minute can be wasted when you have just a few hours to create a show-stopping Croquembouche or Flaouna to pass a tough technical test. The same is true in business. To maximise your productivity and profitability, you must make every second count.  

2 You must be able to handle pressure

Whether you’re in the Bake Off tent or running your own business, some pressure is inevitable, at least some of the time. If you can manage that pressure so it doesn’t turn into stress, you can overcome challenges and achieve great things. 

3 Proper planning pays off

Executing a well thought-out plan is essential to wowing the Bake Off judges. Contestants are often to be seen ticking off lists while working their way through highly challenging recipes. Similarly, sticking to a sound business plan strategy can ensure that you stay on track and achieve your ambitions.

4 Simplicity is usually best

Complexity often leads to disaster on the GBBO. Leave yourself far too much to do within your available time is setting yourself up for failure. And while pushing yourself is a good thing, setting impossible objectives isn’t. Better to keep things simple and do the basics well.

5 Success is built on consistency

Quality matters in baking and business, but you’re only as good as your last bake, task or job. Even star bakers and businesses can come unstuck if they fail to deliver quality time after time.

6 Everyone makes mistakes

Even those who have won the Bake Off have had mishaps along the way. Sometimes mistakes can be rectified, sometimes they can’t, but no one gets it right all the time. Making mistakes is acceptable – not learning from them isn’t.

7 You should listen to expert advice

There’s no doubting Paul Hollywood’s expertise. When things go wrong on Bake Off, he provides an immediate explanation, based on his deep knowledge and decades of experience. Bake Off shows that constructive criticism and advice from others can help us to improve.

8 Your personality should shine through

Your personality can help to set you part from other businesses, which is vital. Whether they’ve been tasked with making a macaron, bread roll or tea cake, successful Bake Off contestants put something of themselves into their creations. Being who you are can help to fuel your success. Viewers and customers like authenticity.

9 Appearance isn’t everything

On Bake Off we frequently see outwardly beautiful creations picked apart for lacking flavour or crunch. Sometimes they’re over or under baked. Similarly, an impressive business website can be undermined by poor customer service. Substance is more important.

10 Who dares (usually) wins

Sometimes you must be prepared to think outside the box and do things differently if you are to triumph. Whether that’s spicing up teacakes with masala chai or adding cream soda flavouring to your cheesecake topping, in business and the Bake Off – fortune favours the brave.

• You can watch the series so far on catch-up or by visiting the Channel 4 website. Blog written by Dead Good Content founder, Mark Williams.

Create your own low-cost customer enewsletter in five simple steps

In my previous post, I made the business case for enewsletters, which can be a highly effective marketing tool for accountants and other service-based businesses. For little cost, you can market your services to prospects, current and former customers.

But what are the key legal considerations and what steps should you take if you want to your enewsletter to succeed?   

1 Build and segment your enewsletter contact list…

Obviously, you’ll have email addresses for existing clients. And although you may have them for former clients and prospects, if you haven’t gained their informed consent, email them all to tell them about your new enewsletter, including a link to your website’s enewsletter subscription page.

Gather your signed-up email addresses into one enewsletter contact database. Segmenting this into different types of customers and targeting each with variations of your enewsletter can greatly increase your success. Separating private individuals from businesses is an obvious place to start, but you could segment your database into leads, customers and previous customers.

Top tip >> Segment your business customers by age, size or sector, so that you can better serve their specific information needs.

2 Get more subscribers to sign up

Enabling visitors to easily subscribe via your home page and others is a must. Give links good visibility, but avoid invasive pop-ups and anything else that could annoy.

Don’t ask for too much information at first. You just need a name, some basic details and an email address. On your sign-up web page, tell subscribers how you’ll use their email address. If you plan to send other marketing emails, allow them to opt out. Include enewsletter sign-up links in your email footers and social media posts and profile pages. Publicise your enewsletter offline, too.

Top tip >> Don’t waste money buying email lists, because the quality can be poor. Instead, always seek to grow your subscription list.

3 Draw up an enewsletter content plan

Create this for the next 12 months. Plan in content when it will be most relevant and useful to recipients. As an obvious example, if you are an accountant, you include a piece on Self-Assessment in your November or December enewsletter ahead of the 31 January tax return online filing deadline.

Also align content with your marketing aims. For example, you may want to try to sell a particular service at a certain time, so you include related content in the preceding month’s enewsletter.

You should also plan content around topical, seasonal, national or international events. Provide an engaging mix of topics and content format in each newsletter. Be original. About three items of content per newsletter is a good target – think quality not quantity. This content should live on your website. Create an archive page, so visitors can read your previous enewsletters.

Top tip >> Your content should be rich in value. Tell recipients something new. Solve their problems. Help them to succeed. Save them time and money. Also showcase your expertise.       

4 Choose the right enewsletter solution

There are many enewsletter management platforms/apps. They include MailChimp, Mailjet, GetResponse, MailUp, MailerLite, Emma, Campaign Monitor, Constant Contact, MailUp, AWeber, Benchmark, Sendloop, SendinBlue and ConvertKit.

Some offer a free service, with limited features/benefits, but these can still work well if you have a relatively short mailing list. The more you pay, basically, the more you get, and monthly deals are available from about £10-£15 – a relatively low investment.

So, how does they work? You import your database, create an enewsletter design or use/customise a responsive template (so your email looks good on all devices) and schedule your distribution. Most paid solutions enable you to segment, A/B test, custom brand your enewsletters and gain advanced audience insights, so you can improve your success rate.

Top tip >> Make it easy to share your newsletters via email links or social media sharing buttons. It can help to grow your subscription list.

5 Preview, send and analyse

After all of your content has been written – and proofed – most enewsletter platforms/apps allow you send test versions to yourself, to check it looks good on desktop and mobile device, and won’t be deemed junk mail. If all is OK, you can send or schedule your enewsletter for distribution.

You can never be totally sure how your enewsletter will perform, but most enewsletter platforms/apps provide analytics, so you can see what worked and what didn’t. Key metrics include open rate, click-through rate and unsubscribe rates.

Top tip >> Always analyse performance data. Learn lessons and make improvements. Don’t give up if results aren’t great straight away. Success takes time and effort.

Some important legal requirements

• Your must comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements when it comes to personal data.

• Recipients should also have given their explicit consent to receiving your enewsletter. Individuals and organisations must opt-in to receive your email. Get verifiable consent via an affirmative action.

• Recipients must be able to unsubscribe easily.

• Each enewsletter must clearly state your business name, registration number if a limited company, your postal and email addresses. You can’t conceal your identity.

• Anti-spam laws restrict the sending of “spam” (unsolicited marketing emails) to subscribers.

• Never send unsolicited enewsletters. Most of us hate them – don’t we?

• Written by Mark Williams, founder and content director of Dead Good Content. Copyright 2020 © Dead Good Content.