With an MBA from Harvard Business School, Alton Delane has been an advisor at Emissary, a sales intelligence network, since 2019. As a business development executive, Alton Delane possesses skills such as lobbying, networking, and negotiations.
Negotiating is a skill that aims to create a formal agreement between two parties. Over time, some helpful guidelines have been developed to ensure successful negotiations. A successful negotiation entails an agreement that is beneficial to both parties.
When quoting a price during a negotiation, negotiators should quote a specific value rather than a range. For example, when giving a budget number, a negotiator should give out a value such as $10,000 rather than a range such as $10,000 to $15,000. Giving out a range of values unnecessarily informs the other party about how low or high a negotiator is willing to go on the price. This information should be kept private while a single price amount should be put on the table, allowing the other party to make a counteroffer.
Whether a negotiator is a buyer or a seller, a negotiator should make the first offer. Research has shown that negotiations end with a final price that is more favorable to the party that makes the first offer. Buyers that make the first offer tend to end up with a lower final price. Sellers who quote first tend to walk away with a higher final price.
Another good advice is that negotiators should ensure that the other party should walk away from the deal satisfied. This is called a win-win mindset. This is in contrast to a win-lose mindset where negotiators only care for their side. A win-lose mindset might be effective for the current negotiation, but it is an alienating negotiation tactic that damages long-term relationships between parties.



