RICA LACENTRA
THE XX FACTOR
Negotiation: The Art Of Letting Someone Else Have Your Way Don’t bargain yourself down before you get to the table. BY ERICA LACENTRA | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL
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ith 2021 off to a more predictable start, many businesses in the mortgage industry should have been able to develop a more comprehensive plan for the coming year. With vaccine rollout providing a light at the end of the tunnel, there has been a renewed effort to set company growth initiatives, marketing plans and determine other areas of focus to get things back to a sense of normalcy. While it is often assumed that November, December, and January are slower months for our industry due to the holidays, this actually tends to be one of the busiest times of the year specifically because this is when the majority of planning for the upcoming year takes place. Sure, developing a comprehensive plan of action for a full year is time
consuming. But one of the parts of that process that tends to be the most challenging, at least in my opinion, is actually negotiating all of the intricate details with external partners and vendors. Even after being in a role for nearly a decade where having strong negotiating skills is of the utmost importance, it can still be challenging. I’m sure I’m not the only person who is still a bit hesitant to kick off that process, but I often chalk my reluctance up to that little voice in my head telling me that women should be more agreeable, not trying to make waves or “cause problems”. The problem that is caused, though, is that being agreeable doesn’t often allow you to get ahead or get the outcome you want.
THE KNOWN KNOWNS, ETC. So, pushing that outdated notion aside, negotiation, like any other skill requires practice to become more proficient at it. For those of you, men or women, who are struggling to improve your negotiating techniques, I’d like to offer some tips as to how to make the most out of any negotiation
even if your comfort level isn’t quite there yet. First and foremost, be prepared. This tip sounds like common sense, but I personally know many folks in our industry that take the “I’ll just wing it” approach to negotiating. While I’m sure this technique can work for certain people (having a ton of confidence usually helps), I’m a firm believer that you can accomplish more in a negotiation, and more importantly not get caught off guard or backed into a corner, if you come prepared. Being prepared also helps to build your confidence so that you can go into the process more self-assured that you know what you’re talking about. At a minimum, you should go into a negotiation knowing what your asks are, specifically which are firm, and which can be dropped if necessary. If money is involved, you should know what your ideal spend is but also what is the highest price you are comfortable spending should you need to compromise. And finally, you should be prepared to talk about what you/your company can bring to the table that provides inherent value to who you
Providing an industry partner with greater visibility to your customer base through co-marketing efforts could be a great bargaining chip to reduce traditional sponsorship costs.
