To achieve the best possible result for your vendor, you need to leave your emotions at the door, was the key message from Ray White’s Leadership Academy this week.
US professor, Dr Victoria Husted Medvec, a world leader in high-stakes negotiation, spoke to 250 Ray White members, plus its corporate team at the event, aiming to help them differentiate themselves during negotiations.
Dr Medvec’s biggest tip for negotiators was to remain calm.
“The reality is that emotions are contagious, it’s called ’emotional contagion’,” Dr Medvec said.
“Whatever emotion I want to see on the other side is the emotion I should reveal in myself.
“Emotions are like a mirror; whatever I show is what I will get back from the other side, so it’s essential to know that the emotion you are displaying is the emotion you will get from the other side.”
Dr Medvec said often, the other side may react passionately; they might get angry, throw their arms up and scream, but there is no advantage in mirroring that behaviour back to them.
“You want to stay calm, which will make them more relaxed, and when you are calm, you can be more creative in identifying unique solutions,” she said.
She said there were five traps expert negotiators typically encounter: negotiating the wrong deal, failing to differentiate yourself, focusing on a single issue, failing to establish ambitious goals and using a single offer.
“I think agents must reveal the importance of their capabilities, not simply as a linkage but as a network and a provider of information, access to information that is not publicly available, insight, and negotiation strategy to ensure that people continue to see why they want to sell with Ray White and with an agent as opposed to selling with another agent,” she said.
Dr Medvec is the Adeline Barry Davee Professor of Management and Organisations, in the Kellogg School of Management, at the prestigious Northwestern University in Illinois.
She is a global leader in high-stakes negotiation and decision-making, who has worked with a significant number of Fortune 100 companies, including Google and Facebook.
Ray White Aspley’s Roxanne Paterson said she appreciated Dr Medvec’s reminder that, “When you start negotiating about price, you are actually negotiating for your competitor”.
“That stood out for me and by learning to stand on your own two feet you acknowledge why you are so valuable,” Ms Paterson said.
“Sometimes you get stuck doing what you have always done and it’s important to stop because nothing changes if nothing changes.”
Ray White Mt Gambier Principal, Tahlia Gabrielli, said her biggest takeaway was to always be well prepared for any negotiation.
“I think everyone should work out what their differentiators are and clearly identify them,” Ms Gabrielli said.
Ray White Canberra Founder, Ben Faulks, said the Leadership Academy was one of the reasons he loved being part of the group.
He said his biggest takeaway from Dr Medvec’s session was to make sure to focus on the differentors “from the client’s perspective, rather than what is important to us”.
Ray White Managing Director, Dan White, said it was a natural evolution of the Leadership Academy to hear from Dr Medvec.
“We believe in providing our leaders with the opportunity to learn from global experts, ensuring we stay at the forefront of our industry,” Mr White said.
“Negotiating is integral to what we do and important for us to keep improving as an organisation.
“Dr Medvec has worked closely with some colleagues of mine and they have seen incredible results and I’m sure we will too.”
Dr Medvec said it was impressive that Ray White offered this kind of training to its agents.
“This level of training reveals the group’s commitment that Ray White has to serve their customers in the very best way,” she said.
“People are attracted to real estate because they like to do deals and negotiate, and generally, people in the industry have some basic skills.
“I think it’s impressive that Ray White doesn’t want people to serve their customers with just the skills they walk in with, whatever that level is, but rather to enhance, improve, and hone those skills to give the very best to their customers.”
