how to become a great negotiator.docx
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How To Become A Great Negotiator
March 02, 2014 54.753 1.214Penyuka 195Komentar
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Negotiations are a fact of life. We constantly negotiate both in personal and professional
areas of life.
Still, many people dont like negotiating, and as such try avoiding it. As a result it could
make resolving and/or progressing problematic.
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Others, often success-driven managers and businesspeople, are so competitive that only
"winning" would make them a great negotiator in their eyes. Causing, of course, the other
person to "lose." Helpful? Most likely not!
Applying below-listed four negotiation principles and executing the outlined three-phased
negotiation process will significantly increase the quality of your future negotiations.
NEGOTIATION PRINCIPLES
Often negotiations fail when the following 4 key negotiation principles are not being taken
into consideration:
Aim At Win-Win Outcomes
Those are the results which satisfy all stakeholders involved. They represent the basis for
further business and sustainable relationships.
Stay Always Open-minded
Successful negotiators look at each major aspect from multiple perspectives. Theyre
prepared for anything.
Focus On Long-Term Business Relationships
With this in mind its rather impossible to fleece the other party.
Show Respect And Appreciation
Honoring the other person as equal is crucial to any successful negotiation.
NEGOTIATION PROCESS
A professional negotiation process consists of 3 stages: The preparation phase, the
negotiation phase, and the follow-up phase. You need to excel in all three of them in order of
becoming a master of negotiation.
Preparation Stage
If you think that negotiating only starts once you meet the other party, then most likely youll
not chalk up the best possible outcome: By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
(Benjamin Franklin).
In this very first phase define your negotiation targets, strategy and objective criteria based
on which you later measure the achieved agreement. Be clear about your alternatives and fall
back positions; also known as BATNA: Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement.
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Crucial to collect all accessible information about the other party and your negotiation
counterparts: What are their objectives and potential strategy, what might be their
perspective, their motivations, and their opinion on relevant topics? Which is their interest
and their reservation price (i.e. when would they walk away)?
Negotiation Stage
During the opening phase of the negotiation stage listen well and frequently ask(open-
ended) questions. As a rule of thumb you should listen more than you talk. Use silenceas a
tactic and mimic your opponent. Sooner or later they will talk. Try to detect
commonalitiesrather than differences to generate mutual engagement and to establish a first
basis of trust. In general it is essential to separate the people from the issue. Dont take
things personal. Many people consider negotiations as a kind of game. So, stay relaxed and
enjoy playing the game!
When youre about to start the actual negotiation be brave and bring forward the first
proposal.Why should you do that? The opening offer always serves as a reference point. Its
what I call an "unconscious anchor. In other words: If youre selling, be first and start the
bidding high. And if youre buying, start the bidding low.
Often it might be appropriate making two to three equivalent, simultaneous offers. This
shows that you understand and respect the other position and possible concerns. Even more
importantly, it creates a variety of options and helps avoiding cornering the other side. You
should ask for more than what youre actually looking for. That gives you flexibility and
room to maneuver.
Dont be afraid to give in first.Its an excellent opportunity to inject an additional layer of
trust. When doing it in a pro-active manner you should be able choosing something which
has significant meaning to the other party and is of low cost to you. Usually whenever you
give you should also take.Every concession you make should involve a trade-off of some
kind. By doing so focus on interests rather than positions.
Saying that, and in order to get around cognitive dissonances of your negotiation
counterparts, you are well advised to engage in the theatrics of negotiation: e.g. when being
attacked or confronted with unreasonable proposals and demands you should look visibly putoff, or you even might want to flinch. By the way, thats the only time when you get
"emotional.
Experienced negotiators are creative solution seekers, they enjoy thinking outside of the box,
and they constantly look for ways to broaden the pieinstead of haggling over every little
detail. However, they also stand their ground, if the other party is not willing to move or if
they were to become (too) aggressive. Temporary confrontations are a normal and
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