HOW TO BE A SMART ENTREPRENEUR

Business and indeed life, is a game of power where the mighty triumph over the weak. It is the person or the institution with the greatest power, real or imagined, that gets the best deals in every negotiation.

The term power in this sense is not restricted to political, economic or other familiar and often sought- after. Power is anything that gives you some leverage over the other party. As such it could be your ability to reward or withhold something, hurt or take any other appropriate action. It could be your knowledge skills, experience or ability to influence decision or persuade others. Thus all of us have some forms power and lack others, of which how we use determines whether we succeed or fail.

As a cardinal rule in life, people will not enter into negotiation with you unless they are sure you have some power either to benefit or to hurt them.

This power is not always real. Sometimes it is either imagined or exaggerated. Power like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. It is largely a perception.

All successful people, irrespective of their fields have some sort of power in the eyes others who matter. They have created a perception of being able to help or hinder the other person in one way or the other. The American swindler Bernard Maddoff conned investors by presenting himself as someone who is capable of helping them increase their wealth, although he was just operating a Ponzi scheme.

You pay your financial advisors handsomely because they have created a perception in such as way as to make you believe that they are an authority in financial matters and can help you attain financial stability, although in reality they could be struggling with their own.

There are several ways you can create a perception of power and gain leverage in any negotiation, and especially in business. This is by possessing or posing as if you have some forms of power over your target.

One form is scarcity or rarity. If you make the other party believe that the product you are peddling is scarce and in great demand, they will give you the best deal. This applies to you as well. If you are making an appointment, you can increase the commitment of the other person by stating emphatically that you are available only at-such-and-such time as opposed to the polite way of saying you are free the whole day and you could meet them at their convenience.

The second form of power is by being tactically indifferent about the outcome of the negotiation. Weather you are negotiating for a job or for a sale to go through you should let the other party know that you do not care much about the outcome. Remember the last time you went to buy something and the seller, on realising that you need the item dearly, pretended to be busy and uncaring on weather you buy it or not. This dramatically increases your desire to own it and diminishes your negotiation power to their advantage.

The third source of power is knowledge. The person who is perceived as an expert is always respected in a negotiation, especially if the person is not equally knowledgeable. Therefore ensure whether you are selling or buying, you do your homework well, research deeply and arm yourself with all the relevant knowledge of the subject.

The fourth source of power is courage. You demonstrate courage by articulating your views clearly, refusing to be intimidated and stating your readiness to walk out if your demands are not met or accorded due respect and consideration.

The fifth major source of power is commitment. You should affirm you commitment to take any necessary risks and responsibility to make the negotiation a fair deal and not otherwise. This will disarm the other party and make them cooperate with you. If the other party thinks you are not serious, they too will not treat you seriously.

The sixth source of power is your image and especially how you dress and talk. Image, it is said, is everything. Your attire gives you a form of authority which if combined with the way you talk can easily intimidate the other person, especially if the other person is not equally immaculately dressed and groomed. If the other person does not know you, they will judge your social status, financial status and even intelligent from your dressing.

The seventh form is reward or punishment. For the other person to really cooperate and value you they should perceive that you have the power to reward or punish and you would not hesitate to use it appropriately. In business you feel more intimidated by the person who can make a purchase order outright than the one who has to consult or recommend.

The eighth form is investment. If the other person knows that you have taken a lot time and resources in the issue under negotiation they know you are serious and not any other joker. For instance if the other person who want to sell you are car knows that you have seen many other cars and researched into various features and models in the market, they will know you are a no-nonsense person who will not take anything short of the best.

The ninth form is empathy. Human beings are creature of emotion and not logic. You should show that you care for the other person feelings and interests albeit being firm in your demands. By understanding the other person’s situation and acknowledging so, you create a bonding relationship that gives you leverage.

Finally, you create an aura of power by behaving in a suggestive manner without elaborating. Power is a mystery to those who don’t have it. Whether you have it or not, be mysterious and do not claim or try to prove it and people will treat you with caution. Remember a tiger does not shout its tigritude.

A prominent trainer said every time he gets a poor service at a facility, he would take a note book and politely ask the employee their name rather than complain.

The employees of course give reluctantly but from that time onwards service delivery improves dramatically. The impression here is this unknown person could be anybody powerful capable of taking unspecified action. Unless and until the particular staff knows his position, he will be treated like a king.

Murori Kiunga is the author of The Art of Entrepreneurship and The Winning Character all available in leading Kenyan bookstores. .