Have you ever been in a position where you have taken a deal from heaven only to get back to the office and have your boss point out something you missed?
Suddenly the deal from heaven has turned into the deal from hell! I took a call from a previous participant asking for help as their recent promotion had turned into a financial problem.
Tom had done a great job of positioning himself for the promotion, taking control of the negotiation by thinking ahead about what he wanted and subsequently getting everything, he wanted after having the courage to ask for it.
But Tom’s problem became apparent when bragging to his mates that he was a master negotiator because he had gotten everything he wanted… and one of Tom’s mates pointed out that if this was true, it may indicate that Tom didn’t ask for enough?
This played on Tom’s mind, so Tom and his wife sat down and re-crunched their numbers that night and much to their horror they had missed something. Tom hadn’t factored in the cost of returning the company vehicle he wouldn’t need in his new managerial position. This new cost of purchasing another vehicle now meant that Tom wouldn’t actually be in front until well into year 2 of his new position.
What a blow to an otherwise great achievement of a promotion! Tom’s problem is now how does he re-open his negotiation without looking stupid, greedy or ruining the deal?
My advice was simple:
Be prepared
Be assertive
Be authentic
Happy negotiating!
About the author:
Ben Byth
Ben’s background is in commercial business to business sales. Leveraging studies in organisational psychology, Ben’s previous role was responsible for growing Profiling Online’s bespoke leadership assessment business locally and abroad across industries such as Banking and Finance, Insurance, Travel, Engineering and Professional Services.