Look for shared interests when negotiating. That's what a recent article in the Harvard Management Update, "What Lovers Tell Us About Persuasion" says.
Apparently, when lovers were discussing a disagreement, the most successful at resolving that area for change were the ones that appealed to the personal relationship, rather than coersion or logic. Appealing to a shared relationship or shared interest improved the quality of the dialogue.
Additionally, British research shows that successful negotiators were 400% more likely to look for shared interests than were average negotiators.
Lesson learned: Perhaps this concept applies to more than negotiating. Whether in person, through marketing intiatives or during sales calls, maybe we should focus more on our relationship and shared interests with our customers?
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