Since the world was created, negotiating has existed. (Ya think Adam and Eve didn’t negotiate a bit about that apple thing?)

Undoubtedly, you have developed some strong best practices and techniques over the years.

So you get these fundamental negotiating truths:
1. Most things are negotiable. (Adopting that thinking may open up opportunities and gains.)
2. Setting goals anchors your actions.
3. Setting high goals gets you more. (The TOP 10% know they get more when they ask for more.)

There’s one more essential truth the pundits don’t talk about that benefits all negotiators, no matter their experience.

Thousands of experts have opined on this complex subject and offered theories and BPs (best practices) over time. And yet, they don’t talk enough about the path toward growing negotiating skills.

The answer is simple: practice. Role-playing practice.

Don’t groan. Negotiating is up there at the top as one of the hardest skills to get good at. Role-playing practice will speed up your experience, and experience is the main ingredient to growing.

The good news is the role-playing needed for negotiation skill development takes minutes. And, of course, a partner. Practice is so important because of the limitless variables that get injected into negotiations; you have to make assumptions about what the customer will say during your negotiations.

Keep your ears and eyes open for the small things negotiated in your world, and think about whether you got what you wanted. Those are the scenarios you will practice with your friend.

Today, establish your goals for an account you’ll soon negotiate. What do you want? Write everything down on a document and be specific. Those goals are important because they will guide your activities.

Now you’re ready to push yourself and build an aggressive proposal. As you’ve learned, and heard from many, Negotiation Rule #1 is being aggressive with your "ask"…. you get more only by asking for more!

As you have experienced being too aggressive in the past, your ask has to make sense. There’s a simple way to be aggressive but not reckless.

It’s a simple math equation: ask for more, get more. But the art of negotiation is not just making baseless, aggressive asks; the tactics to focus on require the substantiation of your aggressive asks.

This means you must itemize and value everything that’s on the table. And, to the best of your abilities, you must do the same with what you can receive from your customer.

Of course, the number one asset you’re getting from your customer is money, but there might be other items you could get too (press releases, jointly produced case studies, and access to other budgets, to name a few).

You can create your aggressive ask once you create a good picture of all the negotiable items and understand their value. Try this: whatever you propose, add 15%. Does it feel aggressive, or does it appear piggish? The answer should help you define what aggressive ask means.