“To gain greater insight on social media, observe nonverbal cues. Those cues lead to greater enlightenment.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert (Click to Tweet)
“This Is How To Negotiate Better On Social Media”
People don’t realize; they’re always negotiating.
People have asked me, should you negotiate the same way on social media as over the phone, or in-person? And my answer, like always, is, it depends. Every negotiation has nuances that make it different from those prior. That’s true, even when the same people are involved in a negotiation. Social media is an environment that possesses opportunities to use tools, such as bots, that you may not be familiar with in a negotiation. Take note of the following to discover how you can become more proficient when negotiating on social media.
Bots
If you’re not aware, bots are automated tools that receive and dispense information. They can be a huge timesaver when negotiating on social media. Depending on its sophistication, bots can be highly interactive or give out rudimentary information. Therefore, as a negotiator, you can use a bot in the beginning phase of the negotiation to gather insightful information that a human interacting with the other side might be more challenging to acquire.
Let’s use a real estate investor as an example. We’ll explore how she might employ the use of a bot to negotiate in the opening phase of negotiations in her business. Once a prospect was attracted (e.g., Facebook, website, etc.), the scenario might go something like this.
Bot: Hello, I’m a bot that’s here to assist you. Do you have a property you’d like to sell?
Human: Yes.
Bot: That’s great! As a tool, my owner uses me to accelerate the selling process to help you sell your property faster. Please provide your name, the best offer you’ll accept for your property, and the best way to reach you – along with a time to do so (e.g., email address, telephone number, etc.), and my human counterpart will be in touch with you shortly.
That’s a brief example of the interaction that can occur between a bot and a human today. In that short example, the bot captured the name of the individual responding, their contact information, and the best offer they’d accept. All of that occurred without the buyer’s interaction. The other capacity the bot served was to disqualify those that didn’t want to give the requested information, which means the seller most likely didn’t have a sense of urgency to sell their property. That insight allows the buyer to focus her efforts on those that want to sell now! And a bot’s capabilities are much more sophisticated than what I just mentioned.
The real question becomes, what’ll happen when negotiations can occur between bots without human interaction? To that I say, don’t worry for now. Those days are off into the future. But it would help if you prepared for them.
Facades
Social media can encourage people to adopt personas that drastically differ from the actual characteristics they possess. Thus, the façade they present can pose challenges. That’s true because, when negotiating with such individuals on social media, they can create fictional scenarios or unobtainable outcomes due to the feeling of being bolstered by their mask. That can create problems in the negotiation, which decreases the likelihood of reaching a successful outcome.
Accordingly, when you negotiate with someone on social media, take into account that they may display a persona that’s not their true self. If you sense that’s true, probe to uncover the person behind the façade. You can accomplish that by observing their interactions with others in social media, what they display on the platforms they engage in, and to whom they make their displays. That knowledge will lend insight into what they value, from whom they seek recognition, and why they seek it. Once you have that insight, you can challenge them about the persona they’re projecting if they become out-of-hand. Then, ask if they’d like to continue the negotiation or terminate it. Either way, you will have forced an issue to the forefront, which will save you a countless amount of time, effort, and energy.
Influencers
People may tend to snipe at others more on social media, but one way to curtail that is by calling-them-out in front of their influencers. Influencers can be in two forms. One, they can be those that the other negotiator wishes to have as his followers, or two, those that he aspires to become. When negotiating face-to-face, you can use someone’s influencers as a form of leverage to control them. And that’s even truer in social media because those influencers are easier to reach.
Before you can use someone’s influencers effectively in negotiations on social media, you must be inside of that negotiator’s inner sanctum. But if you have the contact resources, you can still reach your target. And the deeper inside you are, the greater the chance you’ll have of implementing the following tactic successfully. To accomplish that:
1. Request to connect or follow the person with whom you’ll be negotiating. Do this as far in advance as possible before your official negotiation begins.
2. Observe the other negotiator’s posts and responses to assess to whom he appears to be sucking-up to and those that he may cast a more superior attitude. The differences may be slight, so be careful with your observance. That will help you identify whom you should target to use as leverage in your negotiation with him.
3. During the negotiation, if you reach a point of impasse, frustration, or lack of momentum in the talks, imply that you’ll let others know what’s happening on social media. Another tact you might consider is having the information about the impasse leaked via social media. That’s your attempt to use leverage. Just be mindful that he can play the same game, and control of the negotiation is what you’re attempting to maintain.
Reflection
Social media can be an excellent platform on which to negotiate. That’s because it can give you greater control, and they’re advantages you can use that might not be available if you negotiated more traditionally, bots as an example. Thus, it can offer you leverage that you otherwise might not possess.
To negotiate on social media more effectively, remember to use leverage in the form of the other negotiator’s followers, bots when possible, and be aware when someone casts false facades. Armed with those insights, you’ll become more of a reckoning force. And everything will be right with the world.
Remember, you’re always negotiating!
Listen to Greg’s podcast at https://c-suitenetwork.com/radio/shows/greg-williams-the-master-negotiator-and-body-language-expert-podcast/
After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com
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