How to Negotiate like a Professional CPA

1. How to Negotiate Like the Best CPA in Austin Hollister CPA Services, LLC provides clients critical support on mergers and acquisitions, divestiture, and capital service transactions. This includes negotiation support. The best CPAs in Austin have been negotiating for years, and know tons of tips and tricks to get the job done. While some people may hate negotiating, the truth is, negotiating is something that everyone must do in their lives– and especially if they are involved in the business sector. Negotiating is an important skill–there are many people whose life’s work is writing books and hosting classes and workshops on how to be a better negotiator. If you’re looking to work in the business world, learning to negotiate is a skill you should start developing now, and should continue developing for as long as you continue to have important relationships in your career. Here at Hollister CPA, we like to think of negotiating as just another, more refined form of communication. In negotiation, you have to be sure you get your points across as clearly and efficiently as possible. In negotiating, people have an idea of how they want certain things to sound, and have to carefully choose everything from words to body language to ensure they come across that way. After all, negotiating isn’t a competition: both sides should leave the room feeling like they gained something for the negotiation to be truly successful. Here are some of our ways to help make a negotiation as prosperous as possible. Do your Do your homework homework Before you even step into the room, you should know as much as possible about the other person, the situation, and all possible situations that could form in that room. Negotiation expert Ed Brodow suggests that there are three things you should know about the other side you’re negotiating with. What are their needs? What pressures do they feel? What options do they have? Of course, when you’re negotiating, you should have as many resources as possible to back up what you plan on saying. But you should also take the time to research the other person’s side of the story. Remember– you want to find something that sounds good for both sides. The only way to know if what you’re thinking of sounds good for the other side is to know how exactly how that other side thinks and feels– and why they think and feel that way.

2. Make sure you have back-up plans too. These should be easier to formulate the more you understand what that other person may want. Think about as many possibilities as possible and prepare as best as you can for all of them. The more prepared you are, the stronger you will be, and the more confident you will feel. Ask for what you really want Ask for what you really want A simple fact about negotiating that people forget is that everything is negotiable. Don’t be afraid to be assertive and state what your real goal is throughout the conversation. If you do something like set a price range, people will more often than not, want to go for the lowest price in that range. You can employ certain tactics such as naming your ideal as the lowest possible option, but in most situations, you probably also want to build a trusting relationship with whom you’re making a deal with. This is why it’s important to be assertive and always be challenging everything the other person offers if it doesn’t align with your goals. As Ed Borow says, “You cannot negotiate unless you are willing to challenge the validity of the opposing position.” In most cases, what you really want might not perfectly align with what the other wants, but if you never make your wants known, then you might never get the chance at getting them. Know when to say no Know when to say no If you don’t have the ability to say no and walk away from a negotiation, chances are, it will be easier for you to squander under pressure and give in to a lesser deal. When you’re capable of saying no, then you likely have an upper hand in the situation. Plus, the same rule would apply to the other person. If it comes to the point where you have to walk away if the other person can’t concede to you, then they would also have the choice of either saying no, or giving into pressure. If they don’t say no, and you don’t walk away, then you get your ideal turnout. Even if the other person isn’t completely aware of the fact that you are willing to say no and walk away the entire time, simply the air of confidence you will have from knowing you can back out if necessary will make things seem a lot easier for you, and in turn, seem a lot scarier for them. Be quiet Be quiet There’s nothing that people can’t stand like an awkward silence. In most cases, if a silence comes up, it’s because neither parties want to budge. The trick to getting through this is quite simple–don’t give in first. If there’s a silence, most people feel the need to fill it up. Knowing when to sit back and be quiet can be a useful skill, because it means the other person will give a deal that’s better for you, faster. Even if the silence feels awkward or a bit too long, the other person will speak up eventually if you decide not to. Don’t take it personally Don’t take it personally If the other party in the negotiation says things that may be offensive or odd, your best bet is to not let it get to your head in the moment. For the duration of negotiating, putting your feelings aside is key to getting what you want. Some people may try to offend to convince you of their way, attempting to make you doubt your decisions and research. In other cases, people might make bold emotional statements, telling you a sob story that in some cases, may even be fabricated. Sometimes, there are specific situations that call for a different deal, but that is rarely the case. If you don’t already have an emotional pull before the negotiation even starts (during research, or just by knowing the nature of the deal) that is making you doubt your demands, then it’s probably not as big of an issue as you might be led to believe. Build a relationship Build a relationship People like to interact with others who make them have a good time, and make them happy. Even if the task they are going to do with that other person is something they might dread, like compromising on a deal, their

3. spirits will be higher, and they will be happier going into a deal with someone they like. And when people are happy with you, and have a good relationship with you, they are more willing to give you what you want. However, you shouldn’t build a relationship with people just because you want them to owe you things in the long run. Working to build a relationship with someone during negotiations reminds everyone of the nature of negotiations in the first place. Negotiations are not a competition, but people meeting together to figure out how everyone can get what is best for them as much as possible. When you build a relationship like that, negotiations start feeling less like give and take, and more like helping each other out. Hollister CPA offers negotiation support in mergers and acquisitions. If you’d like to learn more about this, contact us here.