ADVICE – Set your red lines but find compromises, be firm but know how to stay flexible… Negotiations often feel like contradictions. Expert advice to see things more clearly and advance your pawns without sabotaging the discussion.
Move your pawns forward, sometimes open. Set red lines, but find compromises. Combine strength and flexibility and, eventually, to conclude. These are, in general, the stages of negotiations. Broad lines that repeat themselves… but that we don’t always know how to apply in every case when we’re faced with a demanding client, a disobedient service provider, or our manager in the office from whom we ask. Raising:
What should be non-negotiable? What can we fall back on? How to dance this pas de deux of “asking for more to get less” or giving ground here to gain something there? Madame Figaro picked up some tips from Charlotte Prato, the agent of French boxer Estelle Moseley, who is a gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics but lost at the Paris Olympics. Here’s advice from someone who negotiates her own contracts, watches her income, her image and her work pace.
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Find out what we strive for
The first step: goal. “We definitely have some kind of guide,” explains Charlotte Prato. When you work for an athlete, you consider past contracts, what they include and what they entail. This gives us a basis for setting goals.” At work, you can also take the time to debrief your missions, wants or needs, recall previous discussions to keep the necessary information in mind. Essential work to plan ahead, define a roadmap, but also to avoid frustration, such as trying to acquire a position that is far from your company’s needs due to a lack of knowledge about them.
Stay reasonable but confident
With this mapping of gaps and resources in mind, it’s time to decide your stance, sharpen your arguments, and prepare to ask hard for a certain salary or promotion. “But we have to stay reasonable,” cautions Charlotte Prato. Being too greedy can turn the interlocutor off and stop negotiations immediately, but you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for what you think is fair. In my work, we cannot underestimate athletes, our role is to achieve a happy environment. In short, just like in the office, where raising feelings of being treated unfairly will get you nowhere… any more than accepting what seems unfair or makes us unhappy. The right mix of modesty and confidence, which you can work on by taking notes to rationalize or interviewing mentors to boost your confidence, for example.
Red lines or compromises?
It is enough to have clear ideas to choose your battles better, to distinguish the non-negotiables from the possible compromises. “The restriction is often individual,” emphasizes Estelle Moseley’s agent, “and depends on many elements.” We cannot communicate with any partner, for example, there must be consistency, common values and a desire to convey common messages. Then, the negotiations concern several aspects, of course the financial part, but also the amount of attendance required from the athlete, for example to participate in events, create content or respond to media requests. Not forgetting social network posts, which are essential in communication, which are also appreciated.
So many factors that it can make you dizzy when you try to consider them. “Without forgetting that everything is not financial,” recalls Charlotte Prato. A very beneficial cooperation in terms of image in the world of sports or significant financial support can motivate us to make some efforts.” In the office, too, it is everyone’s job to weigh these elements, assign a value to them, material or not, and weigh the whole. An executive lacking in green may give up more of a salary to telecommute and relocate, for example, when others, seeking commitment, negotiate favorable working days to put themselves at the service of the NGO. A way of giving the interlocutor some room for maneuver to facilitate the conversation. A form of strategy, upstream, where we consider plans B, C or D depending on the unpredictable reactions of our interlocutor. “However, being a strategist does not mean being dishonest,” emphasizes Charlotte Prato.
Force
Not giving up everything or what we consider essential. A career is made up of moments of choice, and if choosing is like giving up, the milestones where you have to make decisions are all moments to protect your aspirations. Even if that means putting them ahead of the rest and letting your manager or your employer handle it in a broad sense. A less comfortable posture than the people pleaser posture of doing everything to please another, but more fruitful in the long run.
Hence, it is important to know what we want, deeply, and what these aspirations are worth. “While we must keep our feet on the ground, be reasonable and respectful, persistence remains necessary,” affirms Charlotte Prato. Like a defense you put up for yourself. A way to store essentials. “This is definitely the indisputable point – the sporting aspect. The first thing will always be the athlete’s performance.” It’s a safe bet that everyone will be able to discover their absolute priority within themselves. The one who must surpass all.
Source: Le Figaro
