2. Plan and prepare

Before you take action, think through the result you want and make sure that the phone call is the best way to get it. Decide whether you wish a no answer or a yes answer. Earlier, we indicated that it is easier to get a no than a yes via telephone.

Someone once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Always think in terms of the specific objective or goal that you want achieved by the phone call. As the Koran says, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Admittedly, if you don’t know where you are going, you can never get lost. In the end, if you don’t know where you are going, when you get there, you don’t even know you’re there!

The point is, as the caller, plan and prepare to make what you want happen. Here are a few tips for phone negotiations:

• Prepare a checklist of points to be covered during the call.
• Dry run the negotiation or transaction in your mind.
• In an adversary encounter, attempt to anticipate the tactics of the other party. It is a truism that forewarned is forearmed.
• Try to have all the relevant facts at hand as you make the phone call.
• Notwithstanding your preparation, you may be surprised by diversions or off-the-cuff queries. Certainly, there is no indignity in admitting some lack of knowledge.
• Concentrate and avoid distractions. Give this phone call your undivided attention. Don’t be a contortionist. (This is the person who, while speaking or listening, performs other functions, from housekeeping to chatting with others.)
• If facts and figures are involved, keep all reference material, plus an adding machine or pocket calculator, within arm’s reach.
• At the end, summarize what was agreed upon and define the responsibility for follow-up action.