Effective Communication is Key When Negotiating

I am convinced one of the most difficult things we do when negotiating is to communicate effectively.  More transactions are lost because we misunderstand, don't listen, assume we know, don't call back, don't clearly articulate, don't write it down or don't work to build consensus. 

 To communicate effectively we need to:

1. Listen
2. Try to understand what the other party wants and why they are requesting it?
3. Know if a request is a casual want or an absolute need?
4. Know how to identify an alternative option that will satisfy their request?
5. Return calls promptly, especially difficult ones, they don't age well.
6. Make sure all written communication is clear and expresses the exact terms of the agreement.
7. Be professional and unemotional in our communications, our clients don't need an emotional agent.
8. Listen, we will never hear if wwe are thinking about what we're going to say next and not listening to the answer of the question we already asked.
9. Ask good questions to get all the facts and never assume we already know the answer.
10. Try to build on areas of agreement to build consensus.
11. Appreciate that the person we're speaking with may be under a lot of stress or having a bad day and not take it personally.
12. Leave our ego out of it, when everyone feels like they won it will be easier to get agreement.