| Most of us negotiate every day, if only when | | | | (1) They'll be inclined to give away the store far |
| influencing our kids to finish their homework or to | | | | too often; or |
| come in for dinner on time, when encouraging our | | | | (2) They'll be so miserly as to never make |
| co-workers to do their fair share of the heavy | | | | concessions, even when it constitutes good |
| lifting, and when scheduling that washer repair | | | | business sense to do so, say when a customer |
| appointment at a time when we can actually be | | | | relationship is on the line; or |
| at home to meet the technician. | | | | (3) They'll negotiate defensively, taking the |
| But some occupations negotiate more than | | | | process personally, and leaving the customer with |
| others. Attorneys are constantly negotiating and | | | | a bitter aftertaste even if she is given what she |
| salespeople too. | | | | called for. |
| And we know dental hygienists are always trying | | | | When the CSR threw in that tidbit about "I'll only |
| to get us to floss. | | | | do this once," she was defensively uttering an |
| But what about customer service reps? | | | | ultimatum that was unduly personal because it |
| Not long ago I called one of my charge card | | | | was framed in the first person: "I" will only do this |
| issuers to have a late charge waived. | | | | once. |
| After a little bit of banter, the rep declared: | | | | One of the keys to effective negotiating is to |
| "Okay, I'll waive the fee, but just this once!" | | | | maintain agreeable relations so you can come |
| Were we negotiating? Absolutely, and that CSR, | | | | back, on another day, in a proper frame of mind |
| and millions like her are empowered with a certain | | | | to transact yet more business. If you slam the |
| amount of discretion to give callers what they ask | | | | door as the client leaves, you're diminishing this |
| for. | | | | potential, while bruising the relationship, |
| But if CSR's don't have formal negotiation training | | | | unnecessarily. |
| they'll be uncertain about the precise amount of | | | | Investing in negotiation training is guaranteed to |
| discretion they can use, making them seem | | | | pay you back ten times your investment, or |
| insecure and even nasty without knowing it. | | | | more. If you're interested in providing negotiation |
| Additionally, if customer service reps aren't trained | | | | training to your staff or in obtaining it for yourself, |
| in negotiation skills, they're likely to commit at | | | | contact us. |
| least one of three common errors: | | | | |