salary negotiation

The Importance of Not Opening First
When one side puts an offer or draft agreement on the table the other side is able to asses their negotiating style, determine whether or not they are tough negotiators and may even be able to infer their settlement range. Consider what might happen if you open first: The other side now has the salary negotiation initiative, as you will have revealed key elements of your negotiating position and they can now put you on the defensive by asking you to justify your opening offer. By doing this, they will gain further valuable information as you attempt to explain your position. They might also say that your offer is unrealistic and ask for you to be more reasonable. In either case the negotiations stay focused on your position, without the other side revealing anything in return. Even if they do make a counter offer it reveals very little about their settlement range - as they can now place their own offer anywhere between what they hope to get, and what has already been offered by you.

How To Ask the Other Side to Open
The way in which you ask the other side to open is likely to be influenced by your relationship with them. If you're in the strong position then you have the advantage and more options will be available to you. For example:

A friendly approach - “Well Steve, I can see you’ve got the proposal in front of you, could you talk me through it please?”
An interested approach - “I’ve heard that you’re a very competitive company and we’re very keen to see what you have to offer. So, can you show me the details of your proposal?”
A demanding approach - “I need to see the main terms of your offer now. I need to know if there’s going to be any mileage in this?”
An impatient approach - “I’ve got a meeting in half an hour; can you show me what you’ve got?”

Whilst these approaches differ in style, they all put the other side on the spot and make it difficult for them to do anything but reveal their opening position. Spend a couple of minutes thinking of a variety of ways in which you might ask the other side to open in different circumstances.

Asking the Other Side to Open from a Weak Position
If you are in the weak position asking the other side to open is feasible, if you adopt a friendly or questioning style. For example:
A friendly approach - “Well Steve, based on the specifications you gave me last week, I’ve roughed out some ideas - could you just outline the sort of deal that you’re after.”
A questioning approach - “I’ve brought a draft proposal with me and if you can tell me how much money is available I’ll try to optimize the deal for you.”

Analyzing an Opening Statement
Very little is actually known about the other sides opening position until they make their opening statement and it is vital to learn as much as you can from it. Analyzing their opening statement will help you to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their arguments. Ask questions where appropriate, observe their behaviour and listen carefully. It is important not to miss a single nuance or implication of what the other side is communicating. Are their tactics tough or easy-going, are they serious about their opening offer or is it a try-on. These factors should provide you with information that you'll need to secure the best possible deal. Even in the opening phase it is important to try to identify areas that the other side considers to be non-negotiable, these can often be identified by what the other side omits from their opening statement. Knowing what is non-negotiable can be a valuable weapon in your negotiating armoury.

Staying Focused
Taking notes as you listen will enable you to construct a more accurate picture of the other side’s position. However, avoid the temptation of planning rebuttals, counter-offers or victory celebrations in response to what you're hearing. You should stay completely focused on the listening process until the other side has finished. As well as listening out for points where there is disagreement, also listen carefully for areas where both sides agree. Recording these will help eliminate a lot of unnecessary discussion, freeing up more time for negotiation on the contentious issues. In addition, listen out for omissions, which may indicate items that the other side consider to be non-negotiable.

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