Any successful entrepreneur will tell you that while passion, dedication, hard work, and creativity are important to start and grow a new business, they are the only necessary traits required to make it a success. A commonly ignored, but very important, skill is effective negotiation. In fact, negotiation skills play an important role in many facets of the entrepreneurial journey, right from the nascent stage of the business till the time you put your ecommerce business for sale. Failure to properly negotiate can lead to lost opportunities, poor contracts, or even a failed business. This article focuses on some of the common negotiation errors which should be avoided, especially in order to successfully sell your ecommerce business.
Becoming Too Passionate
It is the passion and belief in one’s own intuitions that separates successful startup owners from the thousands of others who try their luck in the market. However, it is not uncommon to get carried away with too much conviction and heightened belief. Especially, if this has borne fruits in the past. Then the entrepreneur can firmly believe that this is their sure shot unique path to future success as well, making them ill-prepared to deal with possible problems that may arise. When you believe you cannot fail, you tend to ignore preparing for other eventualities and have your contingencies in place. This is bound to affect the negotiation process as well since you are clearly not prepared for the points which might be raised by the other party. Just relying on gut instinct alone is definitely something worth avoiding during a sales negotiation. It is important to realize, what worked in the past may not necessarily work in the future as well.
Becoming Self Centered
According to Investor Relations Firm, a successful negotiation is aimed at reaching a win-win conclusion. Just focusing on your own win, at all costs, is known as being self-centered. It is unlikely you will be able to find common ground unless you appreciate the other party’s requirements, needs and viewpoint. Empathy is a very important tool which is highly recommended to conclude mutually beneficial business negotiations. This behaviour can also result in you misinterpreting the other’s underlying intentions, which can lead to lost opportunities with unrealized potential. Too much focus on self-win can make you suspicious of others’ intentions and mistrustful of the negotiation process.
Becoming Too Emotional
Fruitful negotiations require objective and unprejudiced dialogue backed by evidential support. Being too emotional clouds your judgement due to the forces of bias, adamancy or ego which overrules logic. The common mistake people make is treating a negotiation like bargaining or haggling. Negotiation, in fact, is a relationship based exercise which hopes to achieve mutual gain for all involved. It is also aimed at maintaining those relationships in the long term for example with your suppliers, vendors etc. This can only be achieved with control on emotions and emphasis on logical reasoning.
Being Too Impatient
Another common mistake made by entrepreneurs is getting impatient or restless. Negotiation is a process, not a transaction. It needs to be allowed to take its natural course to get the best value for your ecommerce business for sale. There can be two extremes of this behaviour. One could be when you are too quick to compromise to ‘get it over with’. This can stem from a conflict-averse nature or a sense of frustration, especially in the case of certain stalemates which can naturally occur in the negotiation process. Being too eager to compromise is going to give the wrong signal to the buyer and may end up reducing the value of your ecommerce business for sale. On the other hand, insisting on winning at any cost can lead to a reverse effect. It can lead to impatience when you feel things are not going your way and sour the long-term relationships.
Being A Lone Wolf
A natural trait observed among several entrepreneurs is self belief and confidence in their abilities and judgement. These are vital attributes for success. But it is also easy to get carried away with them, and believing only in your own judgement while ignoring others’ opinions or advice. This can make an entrepreneur their own enemy. Acting alone or trying to complete the entire negotiation single-handedly is never a good idea, since your natural biases may come into play heavily making you react unreasonably to the situation by misreading the signals. A trusted advisor, or a knowledgeable consultant can bring the much required balance in the negotiation process.
In Summation
Negotiations are an integral part of running a successful business. Whether it is regarding your ecommerce business for sale or with partners, vendors, suppliers, investors, and others at various stages of the growth process – successful entrepreneurs need to manage all these negotiations effectively. The first step in avoiding the above listed common mistakes is accepting the fact that negotiating is a way of life in business, not an occasional transaction. This is one of the surest ways to maintain long-term relationships and get the best returns when you sell your ecommerce business.
