At the age of 8 when I negotiated my pocket money change from $5 a week to my age per week for the remainder of my school days, I thought I had hit the jackpot. It was when I turned 14 that I realised this was a mistake, especially considering $20 was the minimum you could draw out of an ATM and that $14 could hardly buy you a movie ticket and popcorn. Looking back, this was probably one of my poorer negotiations as a kid, a quick decision that ultimately cost me further down the track.
For me, boarding school became grounds for practise, lining up outside the principal’s office on a weekly basis, with a letter written in cursive, requesting a weekend with a friend. I just wanted the signature of approval, but not before a series of questions in which my answers determined the likelihood of this being approved, being against the usual rules.
Let’s face it we are all negotiators and have been for a very long time. Screaming for a toy as a baby, trading food in the playground at school, getting an extension on an assignment without the usual penalty, pushing against rent increases, negotiating a pay rise… these are all negotiations we have made over time, some of which probably did not end with a win/win result.
After 10 months in media, I have come to realise that this profession is no different, except that there is generally someone else’s $$$ and a reputation or two on the line. In my short time I have come across some hard negotiators, some dirty ones, some absolute pushovers, and some who just can’t be bothered, some that will never budge, some that will find a happy medium and some that will always give you what you want.
We always want to do the best by our clients, demonstrating that we are the most creative, competitive and successful. But at what point do you say no when what is being asked is too much? Being the middleman between the client and the media should not be an invitation to dictate the price and rip one party off at the expense of the other. Walking away from these kinds of negotiations leaves you with an uncomfortable feeling. What is the client going to expect next time? What relationship have I tarnished for the sake of 100,000 impressions or a few hundred dollars?
A good result for the client, within the limits of what the media can accommodate is the optimum result keeping all parties satisfied, while leaving you in a more powerful position for future negotiations. It takes time to master this art of negotiation, and while I am still learning, for what it’s worth here are some tips that I have helped me along the way:
1. Be Polite!
2. Be prepared and know what you are after.
3. Understand what the other party is going to want so you can pre-empt their response.
4. Be prepared to compromise, and know your range for accepting or rejecting an offer.
5. Price isn’t everything; added value is always an option and can make the difference to a campaign.
6. Be prepared to be knocked back, what seems reasonable to you may not be to the other party.
7. Remember if you have got it once, your client will probably expect it again.
8. If you get what you want or strike a better deal, then make sure you stick to your promise to proceed.
9. Remember no one’s life is on the line, sometimes you win sometimes you lose.
There is no doubt that that the media industry is one of the most volatile, ever changing with clients switching hands at the blink of an eye, and with price being a core concern. While individually we are responsible for our reputations and actions, we belong to a small industry that we must protect if we want ideas and creativity to be the forefront of success, rather than being one dictated by price and discount.
Bridget Cooper
UM
The AdNews NGen blog: The Power of Negotiation - When does one say NO!
31 October 2011