In Sales training programmes, negotiation skills are often overlooked. One might say that the reason most of us feel the need to negotiate with others is so that we can find a way to get what we would like. Being human, we all believe that our opinion is important and that others should at least consider seeing things our way. If you had no wants or needs, there would be little reason for you to negotiate with others.

If sales courses don't always teach persuasion skills, how then can you convince other people to favourably consider your suggestions?

Believe it or not, there is a science backed up by more than 60 years of research that has evolved our understanding of the use of persuasion to satisfy our needs and desires in sales negotiation. The world's leading authority on the science of persuasion, Dr Robert Cialdini, has uncovered 6 principles of persuasive communications in his research:

Reciprocation
Liking
Commitment & Consistency
Authority
Scarcity
Social Proof

Whilst influence will always be somewhat of an art, it is really helpful to deploy the power of the 6 principles discovered by scientific investigation to maximise your odds of persuading others to give you what you really want.

Let's start by examining at what is believed to be the key principle from a negotiation point of view - reciprocation.

Reciprocation means that we return to others the same behaviour that they demonstrate towards us. If you have done me a favour, then I should do you a favour. If you invite me to your birthday party, then I should invite you to my birthday party. If you make a concession to me, then I should make a concession to you.

So what does this mean to you and how can you deploy it to get what you need?

Here's how:

Make sure that when you negotiate you ask for a little more than you would be satisfied to receive.

Let's say you are selling a widget and you would like to get $ 100 for the widget.

If you want to deploy the principle of reciprocation, then you should commence by asking for a little more - let's say by requesting $ 105.

If your counterparty does not agree to paying you $ 105 for the widget, then you can extend a concession by lowering your asking price to $ 100 in return for your counterparty also making a concession to you. A concession that your counterparty could make in this case could be to pay you cash on the spot or to facilitate shipping etc.

The key is for you to make the concession - don't wait for your counterparty to offer a concession. Just make sure that you use the word 'if' when you offer your concession:

"If you are prepared to pay me in cash right now, then I could reduce the price from $ 105 to $ 100". This way you give an indication to your counterparty that you are prepared to be flexible and you will now significantly enhance the likeliness of them also being flexible and offering a concession in return.

Just be sure to use this principle 'in the moment' whilst you are negotiating. If you went away from a negotiation to review your proposal, your counterparty will be more likely to regard your amended offer as a new proposal, not as a concession.

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