As a dental insurance broker with multiple clients and carriers, you obviously need good communication skills. Part of those communication skills is the ability to successfully negotiate.. You have to juggle the needs of your client with the relationships you’ve established with your carriers—and make sure everyone goes home with a smile on their face!.

But, this isn’t always easy. Here are some tips from Chron to help you strike the right balance and build your negotiation skills.

1. Analyze Needs 
   Effective negotiators must be able to analyze needs in order to determine the interests of all parties in the negotiation. Identifying hot button issues on both sides can help create a compromise.
2. Come Prepared
   Before coming to the table in any negotiation, you must prepare. This includes determining the goals of the meeting and having alternative suggestions for those goals. You also need to look at the history of the relationship between your client and carrier, if applicable. How things went in the past can give clues about what you’ll face in the current negotiation.
3. Listen Actively
   This means more than just listening to what is being said; good negotiators also read body language. And, you should be sure to spend the bulk of the meeting listening and not commandeering the discussion with your own viewpoints—until the time is right to make them.
4. Keep Emotions in Check
   It’s critical that if frustrations arise during the negotiation process, you keep your cool. Your job is to find middle ground and keep all parties satisfied. You may find yourself in awkward situations between clients and carriers, but you’re the one who needs to stay professional, keep the peace, find solutions—and remain calm.
5. Effective Verbal Communication
   It probably seems obvious, but negotiators must be able to communicate clearly and effectively. It’s the easiest way to avoid misunderstandings between the parties. And, it’s critical when it’s time for you to make your case that you’re able to verbalize your points concisely.
6. Work Together
   Creating a collaborative atmosphere is crucial to a successful negotiation meeting. Good negotiators must be able to foster and encourage this. A “we’re in this together” approach works best when trying to reach agreeable solutions.
7. Act Decisively.
   As a leader in the negotiation, you’ll need to make decisions with confidence to keep things moving along. Being able to think quickly on your feet and making firm decisions is key—especially when trying to reach compromises.
8. Be Ethical and Reliable.
   It goes without saying: having strong ethical standards and being reliable promotes a trusting atmosphere. All sides have to trust you to execute on your promises and have confidence that you will always do the right thing.
   

Negotiation skills can go a long way to keeping your clients and third-party partners happy and coming back! But they aren't the whole picture. If you want to learn more about what your clients are looking for, check out our guide on the common questions benefits administrators ask their insurance brokers!