9 Negotiation Mistakes to Avoid
Negotiating is a difficult exercise to master, especially since the goal is to obtain an excellent result despite the reluctance of the client or the investor, for example. To negotiate is to go towards the unknown, the other and therefore to try to slow down what will convince him. Some of your attitudes can play tricks on you during your meetings with your prospects and lead to failure. To avoid falling into the trap, here is a list of 9 mistakes to avoid.
1/ Method of preparation
To become a commercial end, preparation remains an essential step. If you think you’re going to collect all of the product or customer information, go for it. Get organized step by step. Rank the themes (price, advantages, features) that make up your strengths, but not only. You must be able to answer questions and objections during your exchange. Know what to answer in advance so as not to be destabilized the day of your meeting. “Before any negotiation, it is important to analyze the context, if it is required who will be facing us and who will be sensitive”, confides Thierry Krief, president of Nego & Co, consulting company, on the Journal du net site. .
2/ Thinking that the price is the most important
Do not announce your entry price! Listen to your customer first. He knows what he needs and why he wants it. Before talking to him about the advantages, the characteristics of your product or service, it is better to know which ones will seduce your customer. The price remains only one factor among others. It remains relative to what you offer. Give them payment, delivery, warranties and quantities should also factor in. Remember that price is not the only thing that needs to be negotiated.
3/ Mismanaging your emotions
If you are in these first negotiations, do not be lax to avoid stress, anxiety or shyness. You must convey your confidence in yourself and in your product to be as credible as possible in front of the prospect. “A good negotiator takes into account the emotions of others while channeling his own”, said Aurélien Colson, professor of political science and director of the Institute for Research and Education on Negotiation at Essec, on the Capital site. Meditate, breathe, and be sure to calm down and lose control of the conversation.
4/ Let aggression take over
Don’t take this negotiation too personally, it remains only a conversation between two parties and not two adversaries. Reacting aggressively will undoubtedly make your prospect recoil, who will not be seduced. “You can be tough in business without despising your interlocutor,” says Thierry Krief, president of Nego&Co, a consulting firm. Manage your composure and don’t let anger overwhelm you.
5/ Be sure of your time
Going into this exchange thinking that “it’s all done” may harm you. You never really know how your interview is going to go. You overestimate your skills, and at the same time your preparation. Real mistake! Otherwise, if you overconfident, on the pretext that your offer is attractive, you risk repelling the prospect who will perceive your attitude as a lack of humility or even as arrogance.
6/ Being in a hurry
Your objective is certainly to conclude the “deal”, but do not rush to get there. Haste prevents you from being able to skillfully. If your first proposal suits you, it is in others, and if it still does not work, offer your client a new exchange so that you can think about my new alternatives.
Going too fast may lead to improvisation and you won’t get the expected results.
7/ Do not “listen” to your interlocutor
You often think you listen to your client as they should. Attentive listening does not boil down to acquiescing to each of his remarks. To counter this bad habit, practice active listening. “
Some people think that active listening means that they are in the other person’s shoes and the strength of the agreement with them,” explains Patrick David, consultant and author of Business Negotiation in Practice. Be empathetic, but analyzing “non-verbal” behavior is also very helpful. If your prospect affirms one thing by speech, his gestures can affirm another. Distinguishing between hearing and listening will ensure you don’t miss these telling details.
8/ Make concessions without consideration
You might tend to overdo it according to your client, for fear of losing their consent, without getting anything in return. Remember that the main purpose of negotiation is to find a win-win agreement between the two parties. See this issue as a tennis match, if you grant a concession to your client, he must in return provide you with a counterpart. A ball return that allows you to obtain a happy medium in your results.
9/ Do not think about the long term
You want to sell your products at all costs, no matter how you get there. A significant mistake. A negotiation should lead you not only to an agreement but also to the beginning of a lasting relationship over time. Remember to trust your prospects who do not take refuge in the crowd when the opportunity arises. If you establish a climate of trust between you, by offering diversified solutions, your prospect will be shaved.
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How to avoid entrepreneur burnout?
The health crisis has hardly simplified the work of the manager because he has had to adapt his company to the various confinements and work stoppages due to Covid, either because of the employee himself or linked to his environment. In accordance with government obligations, he had to set up telecommuting, which is not an organization that can be improvised overnight and therefore experience permanent stress in this climate of uncertainty. The leader doesn’t count his hours so much that he forgets to take care of himself. But this neglect can lead to burnout, that is, chronic stress, insomnia, and worse, depression. Here are some tips to avoid it.
Do you feel exhausted after a day of work? Do you constantly feel overwhelmed and act in a hurry?
According to an Opinion Way survey for MMA, 76% of managers of very small and medium-sized enterprises (VSE-SMEs, with less than 50 employees) surveyed consider themselves to be in good or very good health.
As for stress, it is part of the day-to-day life of many VSE-SME managers. The days are stressful for 58% of them, thinking of the artisans. 46% spend “quite stressful” days, compared to only 36% in 2015. However, an overwhelming majority find interest in the exercise of their profession, especially through the freedom of organization of their function.
Finally, 47% of VSE-SME business leaders admit to having problems sleep, 7 points more than in 2015! However, the first harbinger of exhaustion remains chronic fatigue due to lack of sleep and sleep disturbances, which consequently leads to physical, mental, moral and emotional exhaustion.
So what can you do to escape burnout?
1/ Be organized
The organization of work allows you to concentrate on the essentials and be efficient. That is why you need to work in your own organization but also in that of your teams: delegating, outsourcing, finding the right processes and the right tools are part of the fundamental tasks of the manager. Also, your goals should be realistic and achievable. If they are inaccessible, pass without going directly to the burn box. Take the time to list your goals and discuss them and select those that take priority (and when?) and backplan.
2/ Know how to manage your time
Everything is urgent but you must learn not to respond to the first emergency that arises. Avoid suspending your activities, which are so useful for the development of the company, to attend to a request that seems “urgent” and do not leave yourself at the mercy of any supposedly urgent request from your employees.
In addition, it is important that you know how to delegate certain tasks that consume a lot of time and those for which you do not have all the required skills. But above all, nothing more exhausting than wanting to control everything within your company and trusting the members of the company is a fundamental element to engage and empower your employees.
3/ Know how to rest
Wait until you are completely exhausted to drink
leisure you risk losing the focus and energy needed to perform at your best. Taking time off is essential and above all never take work with you on your vacations, avoid answering your emails or phone calls or looking at social networks and schedule as little time as possible to answer them.
4/ Take a nap
Napping at work is often frowned upon, but getting a few minutes of sleep can be beneficial for everyone, whether it’s the boss or their employees. Several doctors recommend sleeping between 5 and 20 minutes at noon while the Terra Nova think tank recommends in a report carried out in 2016, creating rest rooms dedicated to micro naps of between 15 and 20 minutes. According to a NASA study, a nap of this type would increase productivity at work by 35%. It would have other benefits such as improving memory and promoting concentration. As an entrepreneur, take a nap!
Don’t forget to take care of yourself: healthy and balanced diet, sports, complementary activities to relieve stress and tension.
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8 keys to avoid falling into negative publicity in Mexico – Marketing 4 Ecommerce
Propaganda is a communication tool that is immersed in our society through governments, brands, politicians and even in education, however, negative propaganda messages in Mexico seek to change public opinion and manipulate in a specific goal. .
According to specialists who participated in the Propaganda Exercise in Mexico, an event organized by the Mexican Association of Communication (AMCO), it is necessary for the recipient of a message to know check what is essential and what works for their organizations, They also gave 8 points for avoiding negative propaganda in advertising campaigns.
Experts debate what defines propaganda
Only knowing the context, the moment and who is the one who defines or spreads the messages, the propaganda can be correctly analyzedThis has been established by various specialists who have explained how propaganda is created in the Mexican Republic, its different situations and its nuances.
Erika Ruiz, a researcher at the College of Economic Research and Education (CIDE), participated in The Propaganda Exercise in Mexico; Beata Wojna, former Polish ambassador to Mexico and professor of international politics; and Rodrigo Pacheco, economic journalist.
They agreed that almost always, propaganda is associated with negative situationsbut in reality it is simply a communication tool to persuade people’s opinion:In countries where freedom and democracy are more respected, there is generally more criticism of the propaganda of power, that is, of governmentssaid Blessed Wojna.
Meanwhile, Rodrigo, Beata, and Erika have determined that propaganda is always in search of power so you have to understand it so as not to be manipulated and indicated that corporate communication is key to defining what is actually happening and what is being said in propaganda.
“The corporate communicator must understand and understand what lies beyond the messages of powerbecause this way they will have a more real view of who the messages are, and if there is any relevance for their businesses“said the CIDE researcher.
In this regard, Pacheco said communicators must be natural, pointing out that, “when you need to communicate, whether as a journalist or a businessperson, you need to do it authenticallybecause otherwise, a certain falsity is noticed in the messages, and we lose credibility”.
How to avoid negative propaganda in Mexico?
In order for agencies, communicators and journalists to avoid falling into negative propaganda, specialists have proposed 8 points for not falling into negative propaganda:
- In order not to spread negative messages, communicators must dare to speak before others do it for them, but they must know when and how to do it.
- Companies need to define what is real and important, the way to do this is to look at primary sources, without duplicating other media.
- Tell the truth, without eclipsing or changing it.
- Avoid the fear of different methods and channels of communication, the principles and communication are the same, but the channel through which it is issued changes.
- In order not to fall into propaganda, one must have the agility to perceive the messages and counter them.
- It must be understood that the media are the basis of public opinion and of democracies.
- Communication strategies must be created to send effective messages quickly and avoid errors.
- Thinking that there is always someone listening or reading, it is important to understand that there is a receiver that absorbs the propaganda.
Ultimately, propaganda is an instrument that will continue to be part of our daily livesThus, companies and communicators will have to define the messages, translate them and explain them to organizations so that they can take advantage of their environments without being alarmed or offended.
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What is the Rainbow Wash? And why you should avoid it during Pride Month
Every time June (Pride Month) arrives, many rebrand their logo to a “rainbow” version as if it were a competition. But is this practice really effective for your image? And, where it is more important, Does this really help the LGBTQIA+ community? Let’s answer the question and reflect on that for a second.
Being diverse is not just a brand whim. As we have evolved as a society, we discover how the world is full of inequalities.
Today, many organizations and countries are working to reduce these problems. It is no coincidence that the United Nations (UN) has chosen gender equality and the reduction of inequality as one of the new goals for sustainable development.
When we talk about the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community, representation in the media is something very common today. Consequently, brands may be required to reflect this reality in their communication. You know, everyone wants to be “in style”.
However, these intentions to appear or appear more “diverse” or “inclusive” can fall into superficiality and even simplify the difficulties. When this phenomenon occurs, the LGBTQIA+ community calls it “Rainbow Washing” or “Pink Washing”, a topic that companies should avoid.
Think about it. Why do brands choose to present themselves as diverse?
Younger generations are more aware of some of the world’s problems. Consequently, they are more willing to support more altruistic causes. And this is how diversity and inclusion have become one of the main interests of these new generations. For example, according to Deloitte, 83% of millennials are more engaged when they believe their company fosters an inclusive culture.
In fact, decision-makers in large companies seek to train to meet the expectations of the general public. Sometimes they make a good approach and sometimes they don’t.
For example, in a survey conducted by Adobe, 38% of respondents said they were more likely to purchase products and services from brands that displayed diversity in their ads. Additionally, 34% have boycotted a company at least once because they don’t feel their identities are represented in the companies’ actions.
Likewise, it is important to know that being inclusive has become something that has a positive impact on companies. According to McKinsey, companies in the top quartile of gender diversity are 15% more likely to have financial returns above their national industry median. Companies in the top quartile of racial/ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their national industry median.
The growth of the Rainbow Washing.
First, let’s get to know what Rainbow Washing is. We perform the translation of the ThisIsGendered definition:
rainbow wash
Noun.
1. The act of using or adding rainbow colors and/or images to advertising, apparel, accessories, landmarks, etc., to indicate progressive support for LGBTQ+ equality (and gain consumer credibility), but with a minimum of pragmatic effort or result.
// Similar to Green Wash “green washing” regarding environmental justice issues and the “Pink Wash” regarding breast cancer/LGBTQ+ rights.
In this line of ideas, it is easy to see how a large number of brands make changes to their logo during Pride month.
However, the decision to alter brand resources is not made at random. In theory, changing core brand devices can help people register the traditional logo more easily.
But when everyone does it, all the time, often for the same reason and for exactly the same period, is the effect still that impressive? Will anyone pick it up, since every other brand has the same shade of rainbow?
An example of rainbow washing
A controversial case of Rainbow Washing happened with Barilla, a multinational food company. It all started way back in 2013 when CEO Guido Barilla said in a live interview that he would never do a commercial with a gay family. Obviously, the comment caused worldwide outrage, generating the hashtag #boycotbarilla.
The crisis was a catalyst for Diversity and Inclusion talk, and it took almost five years to clean up the company’s reputation. However, the criticism from the LGBTQIA+ community is still there. Barilla continued to be accused of Lavado Rosa. Based on her CEO’s homophobic comments, she adds a rainbow to the pack which is not enough to show solidarity with the community.
This cautionary tale teaches us that if we really want to ride the “LGBTQIA+ friendly wave” we have to make sure we do it with the right attempts.
diversity done right
Also, we can still see some good examples of how to be truly diverse. Adobe has launched an initiative that spans its own company culture, hiring diverse talent from a wide variety of backgrounds. They also participate in forums, conferences and donate to fundraising activities.
One of its biggest initiatives was the Adobe For All Summit launched in 2019. The focus of the event was to share best practices and updates on diversity and inclusion strategic progress.
The elections: before carrying any flag, you first need cohesion within your company through tangible actions, creating a culture between all levels of your organization.
Other forms of color washing
The issue doesn’t just apply to Pride month. There are other Color Washing besides Rainbow Washing.
First, Color Washing is heard as a general term for the practice of profit-driven corporations to misleadingly communicate unsubstantiated values in products and services in order to better attract and market them to socially and environmentally conscious consumers, as defined in column from The Sustainable Fashion Matterz.
With this order of ideas, we can establish the main forms of Color Washing.
pink wash
It is widely used on LGBTQIA+ occasions. However, it can also be related to female empowerment, where it promotes a feminist facade while having exploitative or unequal wages towards women.
green wash
This speaks to delivering misleading messages about sustainability practices. It occurs when a brand calls itself “eco-friendly” but still fails to be sustainable in its processes.
Brown Wash
This phenomenon was very common during the Black Lives Matter debate during 2020. It happens a lot when a company seems to support this community but does not implement internal practices to empower them.
Whitening
It is when a brand is somehow related to a tragedy and does not take responsibility for what happened. An example of this is what happened at Rana Plaza Collapse, where the building collapsed due to a series of administrative and engineering issues. The tragedy reflected the importance of the restructuring of the Fashion Industry. Criticism arose when, even years after the tragedy, the retailers involved failed to compensate the victims and their families, or take steps to improve workplace infrastructure.
What are we doing at Rock Content to avoid falling into Color Washing?
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) have always been part of Rock Content’s values since 2013, when we were founded. In 2019 we officially structured our areas of Social Impact and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
At Rock Content, we treat the uniqueness of each person with due fairness and respect, listening carefully to all voices and acting to transform realities beyond our employees and consumers.
For us, social impact means being aware of underrepresented groups that are in positions of social and economic vulnerability, with a focus on gender, race, disability, and affective-sexual orientation, among others.
it is possible through the promotion of education, enabling inclusion in the market and ensuring fairness in business. With these initiatives, we promote more employability opportunities and also socioeconomic growth.
In 2021, Rock Content impacted 20,000 people, donated by Rock University to underrepresented groups. Today, 52.8% of the Rock Content team is made up of women, and 49% of leadership positions are held by women.
In the same year, Rock Content took another important step in accelerating social change. Through Pledge 1%, Rock Content commits to donating 1% of share capital to education and employability initiatives and projects.
Avoid Color Washing
So, with all of Rock Content’s knowledge of how to really promote social change, here are some practices we can share to help you avoid color washing:
Be an ally every day. It’s fine if you want to do something special for these dates, but don’t forget to show commitment 365 days a year.
Support education and opportunities for all. Showing solidarity through fundraising is also a plus.
Focus on giving space to those minima. Create opportunities for them to grow within the company and improve their career.
Be consistent between your public image and your internal processes.
The lesson is very simple: It’s no use adapting a flag when you don’t understand the nuances of what you’re defending. If giving good visibility to those decreases is an idea, the change has to start from within. This is how you can effectively support a movement and go beyond what is “in”.
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How to avoid the pitfalls when organizing a corporate event
The corporate event has specific objectives such as giving new impetus to the teams. I ask for a certain budget, visible to you and your collaborators who have never forgiven you for spending money in money for an event whose merit has never existed. A few tips to avoid falling into the trap of amateurism.
The two years that we have just lived on set aside the events but made the Leaders aware of their importance. If, at the start, some thought of saving money, the name of them understood their importance in the relationship with customers, suppliers, employees and partners. They were also able to analyze how to better use them and therefore add added value but also remove unnecessary sections and therefore save money.
1 – Bad definition of the objectives of the event
I know the 3 fundamental questions that arise (What? Who? Why?)
- What is the message you want to convey?
- Who do you want to reach with your event?
- Why do you want to organize an event?
The answers to the questions allow you to create a brief that will serve as the basis for the preparation
of the event but also to the teams around you.
2 – Wrong choice of place, time and date
The choice of date, time and place is one of the keys to success.
- What costume and what means of transport will your guests carry? The difficulty of access puts off the participants and you will have many withdrawals if they force them to walk, to take multiple transports…
- The date: laughs more difficult for the choice of the car it is a real slalom to take into account all the parameters: school holidays, days before public holidays, different religious holidays, trade shows…
- The time: the obligations of the participants must be taken into account: if it is an internal public, it will be necessary to take into account the familiar obligations whereas if it is a question of an external public, it will be necessary to take Account of their possibility to come to your appointment. In this case, your effective communication is there to attract them.
3 – Bad choice of program and content
What message do you want to bring to the participants? Comment the presenter? A successful event must be dynamic: highlights, moments of discussion, spectacle, emotion, etc. The image, the atmosphere, the service: everything must be, I thought of every detail, the speakers…
4 – Neglecting preparation and organization
The corporate event requires meticulous preparation and organization. Don’t do it at the last minute. Preparation times vary depending on the length of the event. Otherwise, it may be doomed to failure and worse still discredit you.
5 – Underestimating the importance of details
Check the detail of the account, regardless of its size. Whether it is the duration of the location of the room, the sound system, the various benefits and services included, the choice of caterer, they are all of paramount importance. This is why establishing a Check List from the start with a backward planning avoids the pitfalls such as the fact that you cannot find the place or the date that suits you and that you are obliged to take a place or a date that will not suit your needs.
If you don’t want your event to turn into conflicts with your collaborators, you can sometimes consider logistics as a crucial element and invitations for example. The ideal for sending invitations is to do so at least three weeks before the event. The form of the invitation (mail, cardboard, sms, …) is made according to the person visited.
Decoration, caterer, photographer, signage, parking, hostesses, badges, presentation materials… Everything must be combed through.
Above all, don’t plan too tightly, you always have to keep a margin of safety because managing an event means dealing with a number of unforeseen events.
6 – Accurately verify the names of the participants
The name of the guests rents the event details table. To determine the name, it will be possible to establish a precise list with the people subject to cancellation and the cells that you will find at the last moment. You must therefore provide a certain margin in order to avoid having planned too large or too small.
7 – Neglecting communication before, during and after your event
- Before, you have to communicate about the event to your targets: invitation flyer, newsletters and social networks, press…
- During, interact with your community to develop your visibility: Live tweet, Instagram Story and Facebook Live are excellent ways. Take care of the # to use on all your media.
- After an event, we were able to market the participants via an email or a newsletter, mention the evening on your social contacts using the dedicated hashtag and the people you met on LinkedIn for example.
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Avoid sabotaging your sales yourself!
Sales techniques, the real ones, cells that work, requiring a “winner” attitude and absolute confidence in the product/service sold. I will sell this complicated enough why I will throw a ball at it and therefore reduce its chances of selling a nil by doing anything. For those who would like to dig deeper, feel free to read “Add-On Selling: How to Squeeze Every Last Ounce of Sales Potential From Your Calls” by Jim Domanski. Moreover, we are going to draw inspiration from it to give you some advice. Here are 5 fairly conventional attitudes and above all… how to avoid them!
discouragement and pressure
When we are under pressure, we tend to be negative, which can strongly influence the sale with this kind of sentences: “Unfortunately we cannot do that…”, “We will not be able to deliver to you in 48 hours…”, “It is impossible for us to supply you with such a quantity”, “I do not think that we will be able to take care of your request” , “We do not have the necessary capacity…”.
Do you kinda see the genre? This negativity pushes you to say what you can’t do and/or what you can’t offer rather than to say what you can do for your client. As a result, you’ll be closing emblem doors like this rather than opening them.
The doubts that can assail you
When you are asked certain questions to get to know your service better, you may tend to react as follows: “I guess that kind of service can’t be of any use to you in the short term, can it?” », « You have probably still chosen to integrate this service », « Here is what our service DOES NOT include »…
In case you find that you will never be confident in your abilities to complete the sale. As a result, you protect yourself by avoiding anticipating the prospect’s refusal. Needless to say, a customer who faces a salesperson who lacks confidence will find it difficult to buy. You must be convinced that you will make your sale. Otherwise, you will find it difficult to convince your client.
Those who have no patience
When you lose patience because you feel like you are bothering your client with your questions, it is not uncommon to use irony with sentences like: “Okay, well listen, if YOU don’t want to save money, that’s up to you!” »
While irony can be useful in other situations, using it with your prospects is often one of the worst attitudes. But what happened in your head? Well, you are often disgusted with your poor commercial results and you will avoid getting tired of having customers who do not understand the interest of your offer. Suddenly, you take revenge a little and you put the customer in his place. Ok, maybe it’s cumming for a few minutes, but beware of the customer’s reaction, which you can really hate.
become bad language
When you show your last cards because you are facing a tough prospect, here is what you may tend to say: “Well, I’ll tell you a little secret, beware of our competitor Z. I’ve heard so many stories about their scams ! ” or “In addition, our two other competitors want to sell at all costs, so they don’t tell you everything and resort to more than dubious practices…”…
You may think you are doing well but be bad language about the competition and “inform” prospects, not returning your offer more attractive and giving you a very unfriendly image. Criticizing my competitors behind their backs is not a good solution. This gives the impression that you don’t really have any arguments to underline the advantages of your product!
Offers self-scuttling sound
When you no longer know what to do to convince, you may tend to sabotage yourself. We then observe all the situations that are not going well and we can tend to say “We had a lot of problems with this production line, it was not always easy to have good equipment hahaha”, “Our accounting department is not kidding with the invoices. Real accountants huh! » or “Honestly, if we could offer you a cheaper price, we could, but it’s hard for us right now you know”
But why are you committing suicide commercially? It seems that you rely on the client’s admiration and appreciation for sincerity and candor for persuasiveness. You thought you were getting some confidence from him to buy. Bad! All that this kind of attitude leads to is the flight of the customer because it will cause you internal organization problems! If you sometimes find sources on the internet, you have to pay for them, not advertise them!
3 tips for improvement:
1/ Think before you speak
Obvious, you will say, more useful than recalling in these cases! No haste, we listen well they are prospects and we repeat the sentence in our head before saying it!
2/ Submit your applications to your prospects
Listen again in peace. Analyze your sales pitch. You see it is terribly effective. You will not be the most lenient with your mistakes and that’s good!
3/ Ask a friend/colleague to do a simulation
Ask that we give you feedback without waffling. You become aware of some of your mistakes on another person’s finger pointing while arguing.
If you planted with a prospect, it was panic! Identify what caused this landslide and the attitudes you could correct for the next times.
The article Avoid sabotaging your own sales! appeared first on Dynamique-Mag.com.
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