Judge Judy says “you don’t get what you deserve—you get what you negotiate” – 5 tips for getting the upper hand

Some people are fortunate enough to have things handed to them in life — they have wealthy parents who help them succeed, or they just happen to land in good jobs or other situation that lead to long-term prosperity.

But that’s not the case for everyone. Some people have to hustle and work their way up to success. But a big part of that is knowing how to negotiate on your own behalf.

In fact, Judge Judy has been quoted as saying, “you don’t get what you deserve—you get what you negotiate.” And she makes a really good point. With that in mind, here are five tips for negotiating your way into an outcome you want.

1. Know your audience

One of the most important things to do ahead of a negotiation is know who you’re dealing with. To illustrate this, let’s use the example of someone who’s trying to score a salary boost. In that case, you have to ask yourself what type of person your manager is, and what sort of tactics are likely to resonate with them.

If your manager is someone who puts a lot of emphasis on data, you’ll want to use that to fuel your argument. So to that end, you’ll want to look up stats that show what value you add to your company.

On the other hand, if your manager is someone who tends to be influenced by emotions, you’ll want to appeal to their soft side. That could mean explaining how hard you’ve been working and why the extra money is important to you.

2. Do your research

Going into a negotiation without doing research is often akin to setting yourself up to fail. If you want great results, you need to be willing to do the work beforehand.

In our example, one thing you’d want to do is research salary data before meeting with your boss to talk about a raise. That could mean looking up numbers online and talking to local recruiters to see what sort of salaries in your area are competitive for your field.

3. Practice your pitch

It’s one thing to wind up having to negotiate something on the fly. But if you’re scheduling a meeting to discuss the matter at hand, whether it’s a salary boost or something else, you have time to practice your pitch.

Do this a few times so you feel more secure in what you have to say. You can practice in front of a mirror or recruit a friend to practice with.

4. Be prepared with a counter-proposal

In any given negotiation, you have to allow for the fact that the other party may not be as receptive to what you’re saying as you’d like. So it’s always important to have a backup plan.

In the case of a salary negotiation, your counter-proposal could be that instead of a raise, you’re given a few extra paid days of time off. Or, maybe you can tell your manager that while you accept their answer for now, you’d like to revisit the matter in 60 days and  have a follow-up discussion.

5. Be confident in yourself

It’s hard to win at a negotiation if you go in assuming the other party has the upper hand. Instead of doing that, remind yourself that you can advocate on your own behalf successfully.

And in the case of a salary negotiation, remind yourself that you deserve higher pay, and that you’re worthy of a raise. And if your manager doesn’t seem to think so, convince them otherwise. But you have to believe that first in order to be persuasive.

The post Judge Judy says “you don’t get what you deserve—you get what you negotiate” – 5 tips for getting the upper hand appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..