The Sales Conversation (Part Six)
The Power of BATNA and Generating Multiple Job Offers
In a world where your product, brand, and service are the same as everyone else’s, it’s only your sales process that differentiates you.
The Challenger Sales Model
Just Give Me The Main Points
Your Sales Process Differentiates You: In a competitive job market, your ability to negotiate can set you apart from other candidates.
What's Your Salary Range? This question can be intimidating, but there is a way to answer it effectively.
BATNA: Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement: Your job offer will depend on your BATNA, or the best alternative offer you have in hand.
Generate Multiple Offers: When you have multiple offers, you can negotiate from a position of strength and confidence.
The Power of Saying No: The ability to say no is a powerful tool in negotiations, as it shows that you are willing to walk away from a bad deal.
BONUS: Understanding Nash's Equilibrium: The concept of BATNA comes from Nash's Equilibrium, the mathematical theory behind mutually assured destruction in nuclear proliferation.
Earlier on today, I joined a TwitterSpace hosted by NaiRobi called, Watch Us Fight For More LIVE.
I noticed that there was a difficult question in the comments section:
The scariest question for a job-hunter is…
…What’s your salary range?
There’s a way to answer this question effectively…but it begins BEFORE the interview begins.
The job offer you accept is a function of your BATNA. BATNA stands for Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement, and it works like this:
If you have an offer for $100k, and someone offers you $99k, you’ll turn down the offer for $99k. Why? Because you have BATNA; you have a better offer already in hand.
Early on in your career, you’ll probably end up being a ‘terrible negotiator’ because you don’t have any options. Beggars can’t be choosers. Therefore, you can’t rely on your ‘negotiating skills’. The way to make up for your lack of negotiating skills is by generating multiple offers.
When you have an offer, you begin to talk to employers A LOT DIFFERENTLY. You start walking and talking with a swagger, because you know that you’re in DEMAND.
So, if you’re worried about being a terrible negotiator, and want to get paid a lot of money, your only job is to generate multiple job offers so you can say no.
No is the most powerful word in business, because we move towards that which moves away from us.
BONUS:
The concept of the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement comes from Nash’s Equilibrium, which is the mathematical construct behind Mutually Assured Destruction (i.e. nuclear proliferation).