Negotiation eats up a large part of any medium business owner’s week, with suppliers, customers, team members and other stakeholders. Getting better at it, whether the stakes are small or large, is one of the more direct ways to accelerate a business’s success.
Why negotiation skill matters so much
A strong negotiator brings in good clients on genuinely profitable terms and builds lasting relationships with them afterwards. The same skill forges constructive, win-win partnerships with suppliers and service providers, and helps secure the talent a growing team actually needs. It comes more naturally to some people than others, but it’s a learnable, developable skill either way.
1. Do your homework before you sit down
Research the organisation or person you’re negotiating with, their strengths, weaknesses and competitive alternatives, and understand the actual impact the deal will have on your business. Before the meeting, form a clear view of what you want and at what price, what the other side likely wants, who else the other side could deal with instead, likely objections, and the benefits the deal delivers for both parties. Keeping notes or a simple spreadsheet of what you’ve gathered makes this far easier to act on in the room.
2. Listen more than you speak
Most people default to talking, so genuinely listening gives you an edge. Empathetic listening reveals which parts of your proposal will resonate most and surfaces concerns before they derail the conversation. Even in a formal pitch where you’ve been given the floor, leave real time to ask questions and understand where the other party is actually coming from.
3. Aim for the mutual win, not a one-sided victory
Leave ego at the door. A negotiation isn’t a contest won by extracting the most concessions, it’s a search for mutual advantage. People consistently prefer dealing with someone who clearly has their interests at heart too, and who takes the time to build rapport rather than treat the exchange as adversarial. Flexibility, creativity and genuine empathy for what the other party wants, and why, tend to outperform pure hard-nosed tactics.
4. Always keep a plan B
Know when you can walk away from a negotiation that isn’t heading toward fair, favourable terms. Don’t stake your company’s future on talks with a single counterparty, whether that’s an acquisition, a major client or a single supplier, keep credible alternatives open even when you’re happy with your current arrangement.
Frequently asked questions
Is negotiation a skill you’re born with, or can it be learned?
It can genuinely be learned and developed through practice, preparation and training, it’s not purely an innate trait.
What’s the single most useful negotiation habit to build first?
Preparation. Understanding your own position, the other party’s likely position and who your competitors are before you sit down changes the outcome more than any in-the-room tactic.
Should I always aim to get the best possible deal for my business, even if it costs the other party?
No. Negotiations that leave the other party feeling they lost tend to damage the relationship going forward. Aiming for genuine mutual benefit produces better long-term outcomes than a one-sided win.
Sharpening a skill you’ll use constantly
Negotiation touches nearly every relationship a growing business depends on. Treating it as a skill worth deliberately developing, through books, workshops or advanced sales training, pays off across every deal that follows.
By Gerhard Hartman, Vice President, Medium Business, Sage Africa & Middle East.
Originally published in October 2019. Updated September 2026 to refresh this guest negotiation-skills guidance. The underlying principles are durable and not tied to a specific period.
