How to prepare for a negotiation

Emanuel Perdis is the managing director of Australian cosmetics label Napoleon Perdis and the brother of Napoleon himself. The business, which has turnover of more than $80 million, has an extensive footprint in Australia and the US.

He is also a trained negotiator, and shares his top tips for preparing for a negotiation.

“There are three things. First of all you need to be very well aware that you know your needs and you know the customer’s needs and if you don’t know, do everything in your power to find them and through skilful use of questions and listening, you’ll do that.”

“And the second thing is relationships – you know you get more out of life and you get more out of business situations if you’ve taken the time to build good relationships, friendships, rapport, and it’s a general rule that people will give things to people easier and more plentifully that they like. If someone doesn’t like you, they’re not likely to give you much. But if they like you, they’ll give you that extra tip, they’ll give you that extra support.”

“And the third thing is women have to learn and generally entrepreneurs have to learn is to say no. So needs, relationships and “no” are very important in negotiations, they are the three key tips. Listening and respectfully listening is the most generous or inexpensive concession you can make and the person feels respected and they feel at the end of the day that their needs have been taken into consideration.”

Read the full interview with Emanual Perdis from cosmetics company Napoleon Perdis.