Prepare for Negotiating with Precedents

Fail to prepare and prepare to fail.

Remember when your moms and dads told you this before your UPSR and PMR? Remember the hours of study time you put in as a result? Chances are your level of success was proportionate to the amount of time you put in.

Diligent preparation for big challenges pays off in the long run and this holds true today, even though you’re not in school anymore. What are some of the challenges you face on your job that require preparation? That do-or-die sales presentation for a potential customer? Your annual review with your supervisor? How about negotiations with your suppliers?

Among the challenges you face on your job, few pay off as well for adequate preparation as negotiation does. So let's discuss how preparation can help you negotiate better and with more confidence.

Let’s begin with precedents. Precedents are outcomes that have happened before in similar negotiating contexts. Knowing how events turned out in the past can benchmark how you want them to turn out in the present. And in Malaysia, where customs, traditions and long-standing practices are honored, invoking precedents as examples or justification can carry weight in your negotiations.

So do some research. Be prepared with your previous numbers and theirs, if you can access them. For example, if your counterparts are asking for discounts that you can’t provide, be prepared to show them that all of your customers always get equally fair prices.

If you find you have no precedents with the counterpart you’re currently negotiating with, market value is often a good substitute. When you’re planning to negotiate for a used car, for example, reading through the classified ads and knowing how much the car you want is worth will help you ensure that you get a good deal.

Precedents aren’t limited to numbers. You can also find precedents for terms. When the Ford Foundation negotiated to begin operations in Sudan, for example, the Sudanese hesitated when the Ford Foundation’s representatives asked for tax and customs exemption. They eased up immediately, however, when they were told that the Foundation’s agreement with Egypt contained similar exemptions.

The power of the past can give you leverage in negotiations, so spend some time studying your history. Just like for your PMR, the more time you put in, the greater the payoff will be.

You vs PowerPoint: Who Speaks for Whom?

If you were born before 1980, you probably remember how much trouble it used to be to prepare a business presentation. It took hours to print your transparencies and real muscle to cart around those bulky overhead projectors. Today, however, with presentation software programs like PowerPoint, you can carry hundreds of digital presentations on a thumb drive, which plugs directly into a projector smaller than a tissue box controlled with a hand-held remote. Easy.

In fact, maybe a little too easy.

PowerPoint presentations are intended to be visual support for you, the presenter. Slides enhance your spoken message, illustrate your trends and comparisons, and create a picture of what you have to say.

When used effectively, PowerPoint helps your audience follow you. It shows them where you are and indicates transitions between ideas. It helps you to introduce new information and builds a sense of anticipation for your audience.

Studies conducted by 3M, the people who make your Post-It notes, have indicated that PowerPoint makes presentations more interesting, more entertaining, more impactful, and more persuasive. How much more? Up to 43% more.

In short, PowerPoint’s job is to make your presentation visual. Many presenters, however, use PowerPoint to do everything.

PowerPoint slides should not speak for you. You are there to speak for them. Wordy, overly-detailed slides are designed to help you remember everything you have to say, but these take the audience’s attention away from you. If you need an outline to help you remember your details, got in on a separate piece of paper and get it off your slides. Design your slides for your audience’s benefit, not for yours.

Also, when you close your presentation, saying ‘thank you’ is your job, not PowerPoint’s. When you reach your last slide, turn PowerPoint off with your remote or by pressing the letter “B” on your keyboard. Face your audience and tell them, ‘thank you.’ Wait for the applause to die down, then politely invite them to ask their questions. If you have a ‘thank you’ slide and a ‘Q&A’ slide, get them out of your presentation. ‘Thank you’ is much more sincere if it comes from you.

Remember, your business presentations are not about PowerPoint, they’re about you. And if your audience likes you, they’ll love your presentation.