One version of this conversation dey where you get three offers, full pipeline, and nowhere wey you must reach. This no be that version. You want this one, you want am well well, and you fairly sure say dem fit see am for your face.
E okay. To want something no be weakness and e no be something wey you suppose hide. Leverage na only one of the things wey dey decide how negotiation go go, and na the one wey you no fit change this week. Almost everything else, you fit change.
You fit change how prepared you be, how easy e be to say yes to you, and wetin you actually dey ask for. Weak hand no be the same thing as bad deal. Wetin dey close the gap na to ask for the things wey no cost the other side anything, to arrive with something to give, and to hold body well well so that nobody for the room go mistake wanting for panic.
How I go negotiate when I no get leverage?
Stop to dey try manufacture leverage, compete on preparation instead. Sabi dia situation pass how the other candidates sabi am, arrive with specific plan for the first ninety days, and ask for things wey cheap for dem to grant, because to be the easiest person to say yes to na the one advantage wey you fit still build this week.
Then handle your own head, because na there most of the damage dey happen. Research wey Program on Negotiation gather find say negotiators wey just imagine say dem get strong alternative dey make offers wey ambitious well well pass the ones wey no imagine am, wey dey tell you something useful: big part of wetin low leverage dey cost you no be the deal itself, na the way you dey shrink yourself before the thing even start. Write wetin you go do if this one scatter, even if the honest answer na "continue to dey look for another six weeks." Alternative wey get name dey less scary pass one wey no get name.
No bluff. To invent competing offer na the one move wey fit end the relationship and the deal together, and e no necessary, because everything else for this list dey work without am.
Wetin I fit ask for wey no go cost dem anything?
Ask for the items wey dey outside the budget line wey another person dey control. Start date wey shift two weeks, title wey match the work, written scope, review for six months instead of twelve, training budget, remote days, equipment, who dey do the prep work, and how quick dem dey pay you.
These no be consolation prize. Some of dem worth real money, and Hannah Riley Bowles and Bobbi Thomason argue for Harvard Business Review say the smarter negotiation na about role, responsibilities and trajectory, no be salary line alone. Six-month review wey dem write inside the offer letter na second negotiation wey you don already schedule from far better position, because by that time you go don do the job.
Rank dem before you enter. Five items, for order, decided for somewhere quiet. You no go dey rank anything during the conversation, and list wey no get order dey turn wish list the moment somebody talk no to the first thing on am.
Who fit call my name for room wey I no dey?
Person wey already sabi your work, and you suppose ask dem direct this week. Difference dey here wey most people never learn, and e matter pass any tactic for this article. Mentor dey talk to you, sponsor dey call your name for room wey you no dey.
Mentor dey give you advice over coffee. Sponsor dey tell the hiring manager, without anybody asking am, say na you dem suppose take serious. When you no get leverage, the one card wey you fit still hold na person wey ready to do the second thing. So ask, and be specific about wetin you want make dem talk, because "put in a good word" dey produce vague good word, but "abeg tell Marco say I run the billing migration by myself" dey produce sentence wey dey change meeting.
Na here the honest part dey, and e worth sitting with. The reason wey you get anybody to ask na the times wey you do this same thing for another person. KEEP CALM founder name giving back as one of the reasons why im own career work, always dey look for chance to coach, advise, praise and champion the people around am, and e talk say the support wey come back na tenfold. Na im own account of im own twenty years, no be law wey you fit count on. Wetin plain true na smaller and still useful: this kind help dey come late, from directions wey you no plan, and usually for week like this one. Na the argument for doing am now, while you yourself still dey short of leverage, instead of later when e convenient.
I suppose tell dem say I no get another offer?
You never need to volunteer am, and you never need to lie about am too. If dem ask you direct, the clean answer na true and complete without being confession: "I dey talk to one or two places, and na this one I want, na why I dey try make the details correct."
To keep quiet about your alternatives no be deception. The other side no dey tell you dia budget ceiling, dia timeline pressure or how long the role don dey open. Both sides fit keep dia private information private. Wetin you must not do na to invent rival offer, because the one time wey dem check am, you go lose the job and the reference for the same afternoon.
If dem push, carry the conversation back to the work. "I go rather talk about whether the scope and the review timing dey work, because na those things dey decide whether I go dey correct here for one year."
How I go keep my voice steady when I want am this bad?
Slow the tempo on purpose. Pause for three seconds before you answer anything, take notes with real pen so your hands go get work, and repeat dia number back once before you respond to am.
To want something bad no dey make your voice shake. Rushing dey do am. Three-second pause before every answer, no be only the hard ones, no dey give anything away and e dey buy you the difference between sentence wey you think about and the first thing wey jump enter your mouth. The physical side no be juju too. People wey dey train under load don practice how to stay calm with dia heart rate high, and na one of the ordinary ways wey person wey get ambition dey carry pressure without am leaking into conversation.
Low leverage na season, no be judgement
You no go always be the one wey need am pass. Leverage dey build from alternatives, and alternatives dey build from relationships, reputation and skill wey dey compound over years while you dey busy dey do other things.
So take this deal serious and take am for proportion. Get the start date, get the title, get the review for writing, be the easiest yes for dia list, and go do work wey go make the next conversation different shape. Then spend part of that year building the thing wey really dey remove this problem: people wey sabi your work well enough to call your name without anybody asking dem, and the kind steadiness wey mean say hard week no go ever negotiate on your behalf.
The point no be to want less. Na to want plenty, ask well from wherever you dey stand, and still dey inside the game for ten years time, holding far better hand.
Sources
- Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, How to Make a Good Deal When You Lack Power
- Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, What is BATNA? How to Find Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
- Harvard Business Review, Negotiating Your Next Job