You may sometimes get your opening offer, or better, if the other party offers more before you open with an offer. If your target and the other party’s target are the same, you could both get that target and have a great deal. So when you get your opening offer and both parties get their target objective, there is no real bargaining compromise.

However, it is common for targets to be in opposition. The bargaining range is the range between your limit and the other party’s limit, which falls between each party’s target and limit. Within that range, there is a good deal for both parties. Once the agreement has been made, restate it and/or put it in writing when appropriate. It is common to follow up an agreement with a letter of thanks and a restatement of the agreement to ensure the other parties have not changed their minds as to what they agreed to.

After the deal is made, stop selling it. Change the subject to a personal one and/or leave, depending on the other person’s preferred negotiation style. If the other person wants to work on the relationship, stick around; if not, leave. By planning (researching the negotiation and setting effective objectives), you can reduce your chances of experiencing the winner’s curse and be more confident that you did get a good deal.

Rejection, refusal, and failure happen to us all, even the superstars. The successful people keep trying and learn from their mistakes and continue to work hard; failures usually don’t persevere. Remember that success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm, and happiness is nothing more than a poor memory for the bad things (failures) that happen to us.

If you cannot come to an agreement, analyze the situation and try to determine where you went wrong so you can improve in the future. You may also ask the other party for advice. For instance, you could say, "I realize I did not get the job, but thanks for your time. Can you offer me any ideas for improving my resume or my interview skills? Do you have any other ideas to help me get a job in this field?"