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As business people, chiropractors are always involved in negotiations. Some are simple negotiations, such as the interchange needed to get warranty service on a small piece of equipment or to arrive at prices for printing office forms. Other negotiations, such as those related to office space leases, employment contracts with other professionals, equipment purchases, and car leases, take a considerable amount of time and skill. They also have a powerful effect on practice profitability. The old saying, "Take care of your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves," is illogical. It's surprising how diligently we shop for the lowest price for headrest paper and ultrasound lotions, and then promptly go out and pay $2,000 too much for a car. The skill you use and the results you get in long-term negotiations will have a major impact on your practice.
Some things appear to be non-negotiable, but in reality, almost everything can be negotiated and you can certainly attempt to negotiate everything. The idea that the other party may be offended if you attempt to negotiate is generally not true. This idea is often perpetuated by "the middle man" in an effort to bring you nearer to closure in negotiations. It's also used by people who dislike negotiations. It's only an excuse for terminating negotiations and getting you to accept the deal as is. If someone is offended during negotiations, it's usually because of the style of the negotiations or personal attacks, rather than the idea that you want to negotiate. Also remember that every portion of the deal is negotiable: time, money, energy, performance, hard costs, profit, and many other things are all part of most negotiations, and each can be negotiated separately.
At Kats Management, we've isolated 38 strategies that improve your negotiating skills. The top nine are used in almost every good negotiation.
Assess the Negotiator
In the book How to Read a Person Like a Book, Gerald I. Nierenberg and Henry H. Calero suggest that understanding the other person is key to getting what you want. Negotiators have many styles. Some use people skills. Others use intimidation. Some use facts and logic. Others use motivation and emotion. Some are fast and highpowered. Others are slow, but relentless. Some are...