I hope you have enjoyed the article “How A Skilled Negotiator Prepares.”

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Point #1 in the article (A Skilled Negotiator Knows His Counterpart) is so critical, yet so overlooked. There are not many one-size-fits-all negotiating tactics.

You really have to know who your counterpart is to select the right tactics. If you’re a buyer who is new to a category and you’re negotiating against someone who has been selling products in that category every day for the past 20 years, you are at a disadvantage unless you prepare diligently and use the right tactics.

That’s why people hate used car salesmen. They feel that the salesmen got a great deal and the customer got ripped off. In many cases, it is just that the used car salesman is more experienced – he might be involved in 5 used car negotiations a day and the customer may be involved in one used car negotiation every five years.

The more you know what to expect in a negotiation, the more successful of a negotiator you’ll be.