To negotiate is not a skill that you use once in a while as a bookie software entrepreneur. It is one that you can use to get what you want out of life, and as a top bookmaker.
Whether you are doing it with those who work with you, your family, or your friends, you are actually negotiating all day long!
Bookie Software Entrepreneur: When Am I Negotiating?
Any time that you ask a person to say “yes”, or to take any kind of affirmative action, you are negotiating.
You negotiate when you:
- Ask the cable guy to visit your home at a favorable time.
- Ask the plumber to give you a better cash deal.
- And of course, when you ask a player to become the client of your bookmaking and casino operation!
Negotiating is a natural aspect of life. It takes place in your personal environment, and also in business.
The goal when you are negotiating is to come to a resolution that is favorable for both you, and the other party involved.
The 6 Essential Skills of Negotiating
Negotiating requires many skills, but these are the six that are considered as to be essential:
- To prepare carefully.
- To be able to set goals.
- To be a good listener.
- To communicate clearly.
- To know when, and how to push the pause button.
- To know how to close a deal.
1 – Careful Preparation
Preparation is the base of the negotiation process. When it comes to negotiating a deal related to your bookie software company, there is nothing like being over-prepared for it.
Indeed, you need to be carefully prepared to achieve your goals. In fact, you need to be well prepared just to know what your actual negotiation goals are!
There are 3 areas in which you need to prepare:
- Yourself: To prepare yourself means to know yourself. This may take some planning and reflection on your part, but the rewards are outstanding.
This is because your confidence gets a boost, allowing you to perform at your best during a given negotiation related to your bookie software business.
- The other party involved: The moment you realize who is it that you will be sitting opposite to at the negotiating table, you should consider researching that person.
To know about the other party involved is very helpful because it allows you to build rapport.
Try to find out as much as you can about the individual, including information from both his personal and professional lives, focusing on the latter.
- The market: Make sure to research the sports betting and gaming industries!
If you really want to become a successful bookie software entrepreneur, you must make it a mission of becoming as familiar as possible with your niche marketplaces.
Try to be a constant student, and take into consideration that things change faster than ever now. So if you want to remain relevant, your business ideas must remain fresh.
2 – Goals
If you really want to achieve your dreams of becoming a successful negotiator, you need to work with goals for your bookie software business.
When you feel ready to start setting goals for your bookmaking and gambling operation, you must have a brainstorming session, where each and every single negotiation scenario is explored.
You need enter a negotiation with an adequate list of things or goals that you want to achieve.
Don’t forget to write your goals down, and, when you are in the process of doing so, take into consideration the following question: What do I want out of this negotiation?
3 – Listen
Being a good listener is a skill that you definitely want to work on if you want to have success in your negotiations as a bookie software entrepreneur.
Before you go into a negotiation, make sure that you know the specific areas where you want to gather information from.
Then, try to listen as attentively as possible during the meeting withthe other party involved.
Here are some tips to become a good listener:
- Clear clutter from your office.
- Count to 3 before you respond to a question.
- Keep notes.
- Make sure that you are present, aware, and fully awake.
Now, to be a good listener also means that you need to ask the right questions.
Once you have gathered the info that you needed, use that same data in order to put together new questions that can help you refine even more the stuff that is being transmitted to you.
Also, don’t forget to avoid interrupting! When you make an interruption, this just tells the other party that you weren’t listening with care at all, and that you were just waiting for your chance to talk.
4 – Be Clear
When you are negotiating, your words must match your actions. Your words, your tone of voice, and your body language, all of it must be in tune in order to give the best impression to a prospective client or investor.
Here are some tips for being clear:
- Cut the chit-chat, and speak with a purpose.
- Keep your previously commitments.
- Be timely.
5 – Push the Pause Button
Every single person out there has a pause button. This is a little device that is located inside our minds, and that allows us to maintain the necessary emotional distance during a negotiation.
When you use your pause button while negotiating a deal for your bookie software business, you are being more reflective.
On the contrary, when you fail to use it, you run the risk of jumping into a deal way too quickly.
6 – Closing the Deal
Closing the deal requires you and the other party to be both in agreement with all the important issues related to the negotiation.
If you don’t agree with some of the points discussed by the other party, ask for a break so you and your team can have the chance to regroup, with the goal of finding the best possible solution.
With that said, once you get back into the negotiation table, you need to be as firm as you can with your decisions in order to avoid losing your edge.
Closing is the culmination of the negotiation process, so remember the acronym ABC, or ALWAYS BE CLOSING, as it is never too soon to close a client or an investor for your bookie software operation.
