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How can you create authority and leverage for yourself in negotiations?

Is there a negotiation skills technique to counter the authority held by the other side in negotiations?

There is a method that you can consistently create power for yourself whilst simultaneously countering the authority of your counterparts. If you consistently use this method, you will be rewarded with a substantial development in the quality of the transactions that you close.

Much has been written about the authority that can be found in negotiations. Here are some examples of the things that might provide you with some authority, which you would have come across in your sales negotiation training:

* Status & title (you or your title may be held in high regard)

* Physical appearance (you may be very big physically or be deemed to be physically appealing)

* Organisational rank (your organisation may be considered powerful)

Whilst the aforementioned are instances of some of the things that may confer authority on you or your counterpart in deals, without any doubt, the single most effective way to developing power for yourself in negotiations is to create alternatives. You will never have as much authority in a negotiation as you will have if you are not limited to one choice only. If you can put yourself in a position where all you have to do is choose between alternatives, then you will constantly guarantee that you have both power and leverage in negotiations.

The strange thing is that whilst we do think of other options when we negotiate we are inclined to make two important mistakes:

1. We deploy other possibilities too late in the negotiation process. Normally, we only start to think about other possibilities when we recognise that we are in a deadlock or in a tough position. The issue with thinking about options late in the negotiation process is that we could find ourselves in a situation where we have no time left and then we may be compelled to accept an outcome we would have wished to avoid. The key to successfully developing options is to do so even before you commence negotiating.

2. We do not really arm ourselves in developing options. Whilst we may think about options, often we do not put in place specific actions to develop these options. It is very important that once we've recognised possible alternatives that we actively engage in exploring these options. If you want both authority and leverage in your negotiations, then you will have no alternative but to explore fully all the options available to you. As a matter of fact, you may even have to create some alternatives if there seems to be no alternatives available.

Remember that successful negotiations and creativity go together. Here's a word of warning though. Use your negotiation training, because you should carefully think about whether you should let the other side know about the options that you have at your disposal. If you are in an extremely competitive negotiation environment then there is not much damage in letting your counterpart know that you have many options available. However, if you are in a collaborative position, it may be best to not openly reveal the alternatives available to you as this may have a counterproductive impact on your relationships.

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