Strategy

COMMENT

By Chris Voss, author, and CEO and founder, The Black Swan Group

Big deal

Ten effective tips on negotiation from former FBI hostage negotiator and author of Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

From as subtle as a promotion to as critical as bilateral government treaties, establishing a win-win solution is the key to successful and skilled negotiation, holding the potential to overcome differences that have stood in the way of progress for the world’s most pressing issues.

Negotiation is a process of discovery with the goal to uncover as much information as possible. Often described as the art of ‘letting the other side have your way’, skilled negotiation is rooted in ‘tactical empathy’, which encompasses a variety of strategies, all of which are designed to build good faith and give your counterpart the illusion of control. When people feel fully heard, they bond with you, they are more inclined to tell the truth and they more strongly feel they already have what they need. These are the elements for long-term deals that both sides adhere to. Here are simple communication strategies to help you become a more effective negotiator and achieve success when closing deals.

01. Let them go first

Until the other side has shared their terms, they haven’t committed yet. Once they name their price, no matter what it is, they’ve admitted there is a deal to be made. It’s an emotional threshold they’ve crossed.

02. Listen with curiosity

To close deals faster, practice active listening. Make the negotiation more about the other side by asking questions that help you understand their situation.

03. Reassure them with your body language

Body language is active listening personified. To get your counterpart to be more comfortable with you, lean towards them and turn your head to show them you are trying to listen more intently by facing your ear in their direction. This will make them feel like you understand them.

04. Smile when speaking

Smiling during a negotiation will likely calm down the other person and tamp down their emotions, making them more amicable.

05. Summarise their “because”

Summarise the world according to them in your words with the goal to recap your counterpart’s situation so effectively that they can only respond in one way: “that’s right” — it signals that you understand them and also builds trust.

06. Encourage them to correct you

People love to correct, and it also encourages openness, engagement and collaboration. Try asking “Am I wrong in saying X or Y?” to give your counterpart the opportunity to correct and explain.

07. Get away from “yes” Just because someone says yes, doesn’t mean you have an agreement. A “yes” is nothing without a “how”, so ask questions beginning with “what” or “how” to understand how exactly your counterpart sees things moving forward.

08. Encourage “no”

People prefer to say “no”, as “yes” is a commitment that makes people feel uncomfortable. Ask a ‘no-oriented’ question such as “Would you be opposed to X?” to move conversations forward.

ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/NUTHAWUT SOMSUK

09. Don’t explain, argue, or disagree

The key to empathy is no denials or disagreements. You need to make the other side feel heard.

10. Always think in the context of a longterm relationship

Practising the above will make your counterparts feel heard and it will build trust, encouraging people to continue collaborating with you for the long term.

Alan’s Corner

Alan O’Neill, author, keynote speaker and owner of Kara, specialists in culture and strategy

Sales tips to drive your hospitality business

From product offering to staff training, here’s what can make the difference

Every global trend has winners and losers. Let’s spare a thought for those that were most disrupted in the pandemic. My heart goes out particularly to those in the travel and hospitality industries and of course, non-food retailers who rely on physical stores to survive and thrive.

This month, I would like to share a few ideas to help hotels, food and beverage outlets, including restaurants, to develop their selling rhythm again. I have worked with countless hotels over the years and I liken their business to that of retailers. The disciplines used by great retailers will also work in the hospitality sector.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO...

01. Check your product o ering. Retailers classify their overall merchandise mix into ‘good, better and best’. I went to a supermarket on Saturday last to buy an iron. They had a Russell Hobbs for Dhs59, a Tefal for Dhs217 and a Philips for Dhs420. Retailers do that to appeal to a wider catchment within their market segment. It also gives the sales team ‘ammunition’ to upsell. For a restaurant, the good, better, best equivalent might be a salad dish, a fi sh dish and the ‘best’ being a fi llet steak. While all that might seem obvious, hospitality fl oor sta need to be educated on this concept, so that they can be encouraged to engage with their guests and up-sell.

02. Look at your place from a customer’s

perspective. New regulations demand hygiene signage. But how can you make your premises look easy on the eye rather than like an infi rmary? Remember that ‘place’ includes everything to do with the physical environment, which links to our senses. That starts from your entrance all the way inside your premises. What message does your restaurant send to potential customers walking past? Retailers have merchandise presented in their windows. But a restaurant needs to present a hygienic and attractive front that suggests a great atmosphere.

Once inside your premises, all the other senses become important. Are you conveying a pleasant and appealing environment with a sense of comfort and relaxation? Are your standards of housekeeping and hygiene unquestionable, all the way through to your toilets?

03. Support your own people to be the

best they can be. Many hospitality businesses are struggling due to the unavailability of good sta . So if you have good sta , consider how you can give them the best experience so that they will be engaged, productive and remain with you. A highly engaged team is more likely to give great service.

Train your team on how to give customers the best experience possible in the circumstances. At the very least, talk to them regularly. Many retailers start each day or shi t with a fi ve-minute huddle. The team stands in a circle while the manager informs them of whatever is important. The training