Negotiate

Negotiate Where You Want to Get What You Want

By Markus Baer and Graham Brown | 10:41 AM September 22, 2011

Remember the last time you went to your boss to ask for a raise, a bonus, or an increase in your budget?

If you are anything like us, there are probably a million thoughts floating around in your mind as you enter your boss’ office: “What were my accomplishments over the past year?” “How did I create value for the company?” “I really should have brushed my teeth after that coffee.”

Of course, personal hygiene and building a case for a raise by highlighting one’s accomplishments are essential to getting what you want. However, with all this focus on what we should be saying, there is one thing we typically forget when preparing for a negotiation: Where we negotiate may be as important as what we want to say during the negotiation.

The idea that location matters so much may seem surprising at first. With all the preparation, shouldn’t you be as comfortable negotiating in your boss’ office than in your own office? The answer to that question is a resounding “No!”

Our research (PDF) has uncovered that residents of an office space — even after only 20 minutes of residing in a space — were able to claim as much as 160% more value in a distributive (“You win, I lose”) negotiation than the visiting party. And it is not only that residents do better when negotiating on their turf. Our study also revealed that entering someone else’s office space causes us to do worse.

One reason why location matters is that where we negotiate has a profound impact on how confident we are during the negotiation — and so much in a negotiation depends on our confidence.

As human beings we are fundamentally territorial. Just watch people as they sit down in a restaurant. You may see someone putting their coat over their chair or rearranging their plate and silverware. All of these behaviors allow us to make ourselves comfortable where we are. They allow us to feel “at home.” At the same time, they signal to others that this is our space and that it should not be infringed upon.

Naturally, negotiating in the comfort of one’s own office — if you are anything like us, you spend more time in your office than where you actually live — gives us a sense of confidence that impacts how we negotiate. We may make more aggressive first offers and press harder when our demands are not met. Negotiating on someone else’s turf robs us of this confidence, making us less insistent or more likely to acquiesce.

There are several ways in which you can use this knowledge to help improve the odds that you get what you want in a salary negotiation.

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