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Asking for a promotion can be daunting and negotiation can be tricky – but learning how to navigate the process is key.
People often approach Negotiations With the wrong mindset, said Horacio Falcao, INSEAD ProfessorNegotiator, Author, Serial Entrepreneur and Co-Founder of INSEAD”Counseling Course for the World,A free course on negotiations was launched in November.
Instead of approaching negotiation thinking you have the right solution and thinking your goal is to “ram it” into the other person, it’s more beneficial to learn how to be a really good negotiator, he said.
“In order for you to be a good negotiator, to some extent, you have to be a good person,” he said. “You have to be more emotionally intelligent … more patient (and) more prepared. You have to have more empathy for people.”
According to Falcao, here are three common mistakes to avoid when negotiating for a promotion.
Moving too fast
The first thing to know about asking for a promotion is “you shouldn’t wait for the annual review (to ask for a promotion),” Falcao said.
“A lot of people make mistakes in negotiations because they go too fast,” he said. “One of the things I tell my students a lot is to ‘baby step’ yourself.”
Earning a promotion requires trust, which Falcao says takes time to build. Instead of waiting for their annual review to ask for a promotion, employees should bring up the conversation before they plan to do so.
“You should be in close contact with your supervisor and more regularly, maybe by inviting them to coffee or having one-on-one (meetings),” he said.
These regular conversations not only allow you to ask questions and gather feedback you can self-correct throughout the year, but also help build a stronger relationship with your boss. Additionally, conversations give an employee a chance to verbalize their goals at the company.
Falcao suggests saying something like this: “I’m very excited. I want to grow fast. I’m ready to put in the effort, energy, time needed to be my next guy (for promotion). What should I do, group or group?”
Taking this time to voice your appetite for growth can demonstrate to the company that you have leadership potential by demonstrating your ability to follow through on a year-round plan, he said.
Don’t stop asking questions
Negotiations can be stressful – you don’t always know what to say.
“If people say something to you and you find yourself at a loss for words, it’s your brain’s way of telling you that you don’t have anything good to say. Stop and ask a question instead,” Falcao said.
Here are three helpful questions to ask during the negotiation.
1. “How did you come up with that number?”
The figures presented in the job offer must be backed up.
“Numbers are black boxes that are usually the output of a formula,” Falcao said. “But the number alone doesn’t mean anything.”
If someone presents you with a number or a position, they should also be able to back it up, he said.
2. “Why would you do this if you were me?”
Asking this question can lead to more insight into the conversation.
For example, if employees are presented with an offer they are not happy with, they may find that the employer does not have a good answer to the question.
On the other hand, “information asymmetry is a big thing in negotiation,” he said, so employers can reveal more information about how they structure offers or company budgets, which ultimately provides more context and helps the employee do more. An informed decision.
3. “How are we doing?”
Negotiations can get out of hand, so it’s beneficial to take a break from the conversation and take a pulse.
Falcao suggests this: “If you feel like you’ve been there for a while (and) things are a little disconnected or emotions are starting to get off center, ask: ‘How are we doing?’
“Ultimately, the deal awarded is a result of how well the negotiation goes, so it’s important to create the environment for the dialogue to go well,” he said.
Having a very clear idea of success
Negotiations, unlike other aspects of work, should not have a notion of success that is too clearly defined, Falcao said.
“Conversation is messy. It’s about people building reality together,” he said. “A common mistake people make is to think that there is one winner and one loser in a negotiation because at the end of the day, the final destination may be somewhere between both camps.”
The best skill to have is being able to listen and show that you are willing to work with the other side. Finally, it reaches a “win-win situation”.
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