So I just finished another semester of school; only two more semester before I finish my MBA! Even though my professor got fired in the middle of the semester my negotiation class was one of the best courses I have taken at Rollins. Call it untraditional or new information, I'm not sure but this class was awesome. We were given about 7-8 cases to negotiate in class and before class on topics ranging from buying a used car, buying out a company using real term sheets, and even a seemingly simple salary negotiation. What a fantastic class and our professor certainly did a great job considering the circumstances.

So I wanted to share more about this class more specifically the 5 basic points of negotiation.

1- We are always negotiating
2- Anything you want is in someone else's control
3- Identify predictable responses
A- Learn the basic Gambits (Here is a previous post)
B- Information is the key to identifying responses and finding points of leverage
4- Every Negotiation has 3 main parts
A- There are different kinds of power
B- Information is key (Do you notice a pattern here?)
C- Timing - This is very crucial to a negotiation (Take a step back and identify if waiting or attacking could be beneficial)
5- What personalilty traits does the person or team you are negotiating against have? (Finding information is very helpful in this situation as well).

While negotiating your goal should be to create a win-win negotiation all the time no matter what, and to create a good reputation as a negotiator.