For some people, selling and negotiation come easy; haggling is a way of life and a part of everyday social interaction. For others, a more passive approach is far more comfortable – and they might even go out of their way to avoid negotiations whenever possible. They feel this way even if they want to handle negotiations for websites online.
If you belong to the former group, this article probably isn’t for you; you’ve been negotiating your whole life. But if you belong in the latter group, keep reading, because the advice you find here is exactly what the doctor ordered to get you on the fast track to website selling and negotiation.
Building Negotiation Skills When You Have None
Starting from scratch can be difficult, but there is one advantage: you have nowhere to go but up. So let’s focus on some basic ways you can start exercising your negotiation muscles to fetch a good price on that website of yours.
First, you should start getting comfortable with being direct with other people. “Direct” doesn’t mean you have to be confrontational, hostile, or even all that outgoing and confident – it just means you should express yourself. That’s it. For some people, this is not exactly second nature. If that sounds like you, start practicing saying exactly what’s on your mind in normal conversations. Cultivate that skill.
Next, learn to recognize when you’re the one with the power. Let’s say you have a website that’s generating you $500/month and you have enough money coming in that you don’t have to worry about losing that monthly income. If someone else is looking to buy your website, it’s you with the power: you don’t mind not selling the site. This gives you an ability to avoid “blinking first” in a tough negotiation.
How to Exercise Your Negotiation Muscles
Let’s be honest: there might be some growing pains if you’ve never been a negotiator before. Maybe you’ll say something silly over the phone, or you’ll come across too harsh in your attempt to draw a hard line. That’s okay. Roll with the mistakes, learn from them, and keep pressing forward.
If it still sounds complicated, here are some practical tips for exercising your negotiation muscles:
- Rehearse any phone calls you might have. Many people prepare for questions on job interviews and the like; why not rehearse for a negotiation? The added preparation will not only add to your skills come crunch time, but it will add to your confidence. What are the odds the other person rehearsed too? Very low indeed.
- Don’t send emails right away. Instead save them as drafts for later review. How can you tweak them to sound stronger? To appear less hostile? To be more persuasive? Ask yourself these questions, and remember that simple emails are better than long, impossible-to-read novel emails.
- Persist. Whenever in doubt, keep working on your negotiation skills. If you don’t have an answer about your website’s statistics, write it down and research it for later. Continue to improve, and eventually you’ll wonder how negotiation was ever a challenge.
