Two entrepreneurs enter the same investor meeting. Both of them have good business plans. Both require the same level of money. One secures funding, and the other doesn’t. What went down? Their numbers or pitch deck weren’t the difference. It was who they were as individuals. Their personality was what made the difference.
Being in business is all about negotiating on a daily basis. You negotiate with investors over money. You negotiate with suppliers. You negotiate with customers to get them to buy from you. Some believe success is achieved by being sneaky or aggressive. That is incorrect. Successful business deals are made when people like you and trust you.
Your personality is a toolbox you bring into each meeting. Some tools assist you in building relationships, while others assist you in problem-solving. The good news is you can always add new tools to your box.
Reading People Like a Book
Did you ever enter a room and somehow sense the tension? Perhaps someone was angry but not showing it. Or perhaps a meeting was going well even though no one was saying so outright. Some individuals naturally sense these things. This ability is referred to as emotional intelligence. It implies you know about feelings – yours and others’. In business, that counts a lot. When you can sense how a person really feels, you know what to do next.
Let’s say you’re trying to close a deal. The other person keeps checking their watch and tapping their pen. Someone with good emotional intelligence would notice this. They might say, “I can see you’re pressed for time. Let me get straight to the point.” This shows you care about their situation.
Emotional intelligence also comes in handy when things heat up. Rather than getting angry in return, you remain calm. You may say, “I can see that this really matters to you. Help me get it.” This tends to calm them down as well. Individuals prefer to work with others who comprehend. When you demonstrate you comprehend how they feel, they trust you more. Trust brings improved deals.
Confidence Without Being a Jerk
No one wants to be around someone who appears uncertain about everything. No one wants to be around someone who believes they’re superior to everyone, though. You must get the sweet spot. True confidence stems from doing your research. When you’re knowledgeable, it’s evident. You communicate clearly. You give answers without glancing at your feet. You don’t stare at your shoes when discussing money.
But confidence and arrogance are not the same. Confident individuals listen when others speak. They pose good questions. They acknowledge when they do not know something. Arrogant individuals believe that they know everything. They interrupt and presume that their time is more significant than everyone else’s.
This is the thing about self-assured businesspeople – they typically lose. Nobody wants to be proven correct by them. Everyone wants to be proven incorrect. When you’re humble and self-assured, people want to assist you to succeed. Consider confidence in a similar way to how you think about salt when cooking. A small amount makes all the difference. Excessive amounts ruin the entire meal.
Getting Back Up When You Fall Down
Business is brutal. More often than not, people will say no to you. Investors will reject your plan. Customers will go with your competition. Partners will get cold feet.
If you give up each time someone tells you no, you’ll be out of business within a very short time. You must rebound. This is resilience, and it’s quite possibly the single most essential quality for any entrepreneur.
People who are resilient don’t act like rejection does not sting. It does sting. But they don’t allow that to prevent them from trying again. They make every no a learning experience. They question what they could do differently next time.
In negotiations, resilience looks different for everyone. Maybe the other side starts with a really low offer. Someone without resilience might get offended and walk away. A resilient person stays in the conversation. They ask questions. They try to understand why the offer is so low. They look for ways to bridge the gap.
Sometimes deals blow up without having anything to do with you. Perhaps the company’s budget got reduced. Perhaps they changed priorities. Resilient individuals do not take this personally. They keep the relationship friendly because you never know when another opportunity might arise.
Rolling With the Punches
Each business discussion is unique. The style that went wonderfully well with your previous client could be all wrong with the next one. You must be adaptable. Perhaps you had your heart set on discussing price, but you realize pretty soon the other party is more concerned with receiving their order when promised. An adaptable individual adapts. They discuss delivery times rather than discounts.
This flexibility is especially important today because everything changes so fast. New competitors show up overnight. Customer needs shift. Market conditions change. The business owners who succeed are the ones who can adapt quickly.
Being flexible also includes being open to out-of-the-box solutions. Sometimes the best deals are the ones no one is sure about. Perhaps you can’t discount your price, but you can add some additional services. Perhaps they can’t pay it all at once, but they can provide an extended contract. When you remain flexible, you tend to come up with ideas that benefit everyone.
Saying What You Mean and Making Decisions
Have you ever sat in on a meeting where one person spent thirty minutes speaking and never really saying anything meaningful? It’s annoying and a waste of everyone’s time. Good negotiators know what they want. They don’t use big words when little ones will do. They don’t beat around the bush. They get to the point.
Being clear is not only about communication. It’s also about decision-making and being consistent with your decisions. People who are indecisive drive everybody nuts. They want to consider everything ad infinitum. They request additional information when they already have enough to make a decision.
Slow decisions in business equal lost opportunities. While you’re deciding, someone else is acting. Not that you should be careless. You should get the facts, make your decision, and act. When you speak directly and decide promptly, people trust you to make things happen. They know you won’t string them along with endless going back and forth.
Being Straight With People
Your word is with you wherever you go in business. People do gossip. They tell stories about who they enjoyed working with and who caused them grief. Honesty may sound like it makes you a disadvantage. I mean, can’t you negotiate better if you exaggerate just a little bit? The response is no. Deception may get you once, but it will get you many times down the line.
When you’re honest with people, they trust you. Trust simplifies everything. People tell you more things. They’re more inclined to be flexible on terms. They want to do business with you again sometime in the future.
Truthfulness also makes your life easier. You don’t need to keep track of various stories you told various people. You don’t need to be afraid of being caught in a lie. You can concentrate all your energy on growing your business rather than covering your tracks.
Some individuals believe honesty makes it necessary to tell everybody everything. That is not the case. You do not have to disclose information that will damage your bargaining leverage. But anything you do say should be factual.
Asking Good Questions
The greatest negotiators are curious individuals. They ask a lot of questions and actually listen to the responses. They wish to know not only what the other individual desires, but why he or she desires it. This curiosity yields more effective solutions. For example, a customer requests a reduced price. Rather than responding with a simple no, a curious individual would inquire as to why price matters to them so much. Perhaps they are concerned about cash flow. Knowing this could prompt you to make payment arrangements rather than reducing your prices.
Inquisitive individuals also spot opportunities that others don’t. By asking the correct questions, you may learn about other challenges your prospective partner faces. Challenges that your enterprise can offer solutions to. This can transform a basic sale into a larger, more worthwhile relationship.
Understanding Yourself First
Prior to entering your next major business meeting, reflect on yourself truly. Which of these personality traits do you already possess? Which do you need to improve? No one is perfect at all things, and that is just fine. The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who continue to work on themselves. They listen to how they react to certain situations. They learn from mistakes and successes.
Choose one or two domains where you wish to get better. Apply them in lesser situations first. If you wish to be more proficient at reading people’s moods, begin by observing more intensely in informal conversations. If you wish to be more decisive, begin making faster decisions over trivial matters.
Your Personality Is Your Business Advantage
Ultimately, business is still people. Sure, you have to have a solid product or service. Sure, you have to know your market. But success boils down to how well you can work with other people. Your personality is something your competition can’t replicate. They can replicate your products. They can replicate your price points. They can even replicate your advertising. But they can’t replicate who you are.
Those who get it are the business owners who create lasting companies. They realize that success is not merely having the best product or the lowest cost. It’s being a person that other people want to do business with again and again.
So invest in yourself. Work on these qualities. Cultivate them when the stakes are low so you’re prepared when great opportunities arise. Because they will arise. And when they do, you’ll be prepared with more than a great business plan. You’ll be prepared with the type of personality that makes good opportunities into great success stories.
FAQs
1. Can a person change their personality traits, or are they stuck with what they have?
You can certainly work on these traits with practice. Confidence, listening ability, and emotional control can all be improved over time. It requires effort, but it’s entirely possible to alter how you approach business situations.
2. What if I’m shy by nature? Can I still be a good business negotiator?
Actually, being shy has its benefits. Introverts tend to listen better, and they are more likely to consider what they are going to say before doing so. Introverts make great negotiators, and they use their inherent strengths, such as asking great questions and creating stronger relationships.
3. How long does it take to gain these personality traits for business?
It varies for the individual and the trait, but you can begin to notice improvements quite soon. Some of them, such as remaining calmer when under pressure, could occur within a few weeks. Others, such as gaining actual confidence, could take months of repetition.
4. Should I pretend these traits until they feel natural?
No, don’t pretend. Generally, people can tell if you are not telling the truth, and it will damage your credibility. Instead, work on little, actual changes. Work on those in low-stakes situations first, and build up from there.
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