Ivanka Trump may come from money, but that doesn’t mean she sits back and relies on entitlement.
As the executive vice president of development and acquisitions for the Trump Organization, as well as the founder and CEO of Ivanka Trump Collection, Trump writes for Time’s new advice website, Motto, that she has had a lot of practice negotiating.
“I’ve successfully convinced others to let me redevelop the historic Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.,” she writes. “I also led the acquisition of the iconic 800-acre Doral Resort & Spa from my hospital bed after giving birth to my daughter, Arabella. (Speaking of children, I get to hone my negotiation skills each day at home; no one negotiates more aggressively than a toddler — and I have two!).”
She attributes her success as a negotiator to “meticulous preparation, an even temperament, and a genuine love of the game,” and she shares nine rules for negotiation that anyone can follow to get what they want.
Here are some of our favorites:
SEE ALSO: 32 things you should never say to your boss
DON’T MISS: Donald Trump, Marissa Mayer, and other big bosses are sleeping all wrong, according to a new McKinsey report
Set your goals in advance.
Whether you’re looking for a raise or you want to negotiate more flexible work hours, Trump says knowing what you want to achieve before heading into a negotiation is “the golden rule” for negotiating — but most people ignore it.
“Without a plan, you allow the opposing party to define your goals instead of the other way around,” she writes.
Try to understand the other person’s objectives.
“The most valuable thing you can do is correctly identify the other person’s top priorities,” Trump writes.
Oftentimes the other person’s goals aren’t at odds with yours, and you’re able to give them what they want so they feel as if they’ve won, she says.
“Yes, negotiating is about money and the bottom line, but a lot of times, it’s much more emotional and complex than that,” she writes. “Realizing that the economic outcome may not be the other party’s top priority gives you more chips to play with and will enable you to achieve better results than you may have anticipated.”
Negotiate in person, preferably on your own turf.
Don’t negotiate by email, Trump says. “It’s a cop-out that benefits the weaker party by allowing them to avoid a direct confrontation and take more time to craft a strong response.” And it’s easy to misjudge tone over email, which could be an issue, she says.
“I always prefer to speak face-to-face, typically in my own office, where I’m most comfortable,” Trump writes.
