Cliff Oxford Contributor- from Forbes.com

Successful negotiations now require creative marketing, sales and strategy; not the traditional “pound the table” tactics of the past. However, one thing remains constant in business: you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate. So go get what you want.

As a follow up to my Forbes column, How To Get More For Your Horses, here are 16 irrefutable remarks of entrepreneurial negotiation.

1. Find out the other party’s agenda and embrace it. It is imperative to understand the point of view of the person you will be negotiating with by asking yourself these questions: What represents a successful result for her? What will constitute a win for her in a negotiation session? How can you make her look better? You don’t get to enjoy a victory lap in negotiations, until you have walked a mile in the other person’s shoes.
2. Represent the market reality you are asking for. Sam Walton drove a Ford F150 truck because he wanted to look like a low cost seller. You have to be who you say you are 24×7 and not just during work hours. If you are selling Yachts, you better look like a Yachtsmen. Look like the money you are asking for.
3. Know if time is working for or against you. The Viet Cong government knew Americans could not stomach watching the tragedies of war on television, so they knew they had to outlast negotiations. There, while our Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wanted to get right to how to end the war, the Viet Cong had long talks and negotiations over where everyone sat.
4. Never split the difference.

Read the full article [here].