Negotiation Protip: Make the Otherside Feel Like They Won
Everyone wants to win. It’s an inherent instinct that has been ingrained into every human at birth. It’s a part of our psychology. It’s how we became the dominant species on the planet – we know that winning is good and losing is bad.
In fact, psychologist Ian Robertson, professor at Trinity College in Dublin, states that winning is the single most important part of shaping someone’s life.
You can use this inherent psychological inclination to your advantage when it comes to negotiating the sale of a domain name (or any other business deal for that matter). Here’s how to do it.
How to Make the Other Side Feel like a Winner
Making the other side feel like they’ve won will help make the initial deal go smoothly and leave the door open for future transactions. It’s not as hard as you’d think to pull off this simple psychological maneuver.
- Delay your response. Even if you got a perfect response and you’re ready to conclude the deal, hold off on your reply. Make them think you’re considering it, that you’re hesitant to accept. When you do finally respond and accept, they’ll feel as though you had to thoroughly consider the situation.
- “You’re getting a great deal.” Sometimes, it’s as easy as that. Just tell them that they’re getting a great deal on the domain. Directly tell them that you wouldn’t usually do this, but you’re willing to accept their price because you need the money, or you just want to get rid of it, or any number of other reasons. They key here is to not sound like a used car salesman – you must be genuine!
- Don’t Use Joyous Words. If you say something that sounds too happy, they’ll think you’re eager to complete the deal, and that they’re getting taken advantage of. Refrain from using words such as ‘great’, ‘fabulous’, or ‘fantastic’. Don’t even think about using an exclamation mark.
- Watch Your Tone. You may have been told by your parents growing up to watch your tone. Well, that advice pays off here – embody a neutral tone of acceptance with a slight hint of reservation. It’ll take practice to pull off, especially if you’re really excited about the deal. With practice, you’ll be able to make it happen.
You Are Not Lying
The great thing about domain name deals is that both sides can “win”. The seller receives some return on their initial investment and the buyer gets a great domain (and brand) for their project. You’re not lying, you’re just helping them see the truth – they are winning.
If you approach a deal with the perspective that it’s going to be a win/win, it won’t be difficult to help the other side recognize that they’re also winning. This will foster a cooperative attitude and help facilitate future deals.
These are very interesting points that I feel are not only relevant to domain name sales but really to most any kind of sale in life. I find the psychology behind this to be very interesting and good to remember when making sales in all realms of life.
Using joyous words is the trademark of a bad salesman and it is a definite killer during negotiations. That point alone is worth practicing over and over in a role play situation before you go into live negotiations.
This are true no matter what. I never thought about delaying the response as a technique for this, but I know that it works. It’s something I’ve done naturally all the time. Now, I’ll be more conscious about it.
The art of making a deal always focuses on the psychological interplay between the two sides. In reality, suggesting there is one winner and one loser is like saying that a cloudy sky is good to keep the heat down and bad for tanning. The truth is that deals are almost always a win-win situation because each side is giving up something they have in order to obtain something they want. An independent analyst can break down the deal particulars and assess the outcome, but none of that matters to two happy parties who negotiated a successful settlement.
I just hope whoeevr writes these keeps writing more!