Introduction

Each and every one of us indulge in negotiation in some form or the other, on a daily basis. And it is possible for anyone to get better at it with. A simple, step by step procedure that will be discussed here can radically improve the outcome of our negotiations, be it in personal life or in business situations.

Every aspect of a negotiation should be well thought out and a organized. In order to develop into a successful negotiator, one has to know how to enter a negotiation with the confidence to successfully pull off a good bargain. This, of course, demands a good deal of prior analysis, planning and reflection. This is to be followed by building an action plan that reflects reality before we actually enter the arena.

Negotiation is an art that can be learnt and mastered with practice and time, rather than a quality that is inherent within a few chosen mortals who become exceptionally successful in life by leveraging it. In this paper, we shall discuss clear guidelines for evolving a plan during a negotiation, so that one can maintain composure and direct the course of the negotiation in such a way as to ensure maximum gains from it.

Negotiation, in reality is an activity that seems to be a complex and often intimidating process to many. The entire negotiating process can be broken up into six manageable phases which, if followed carefully, would lead to successful resolution of disputes or at least, an amicable conclusion. The method that we shall discuss here can be applied on the simplest of negotiations to the most daunting, complex of situations.

Discussion

Negotiation can be defined as a process of resolving differences through “mutually acceptable tradeoffs”. To most people, this definition would connote compromise and in many cases, it indeed is. However we should view and approach all negotiations as an opportunity to gain, not to lose. Good negotiators revel in the excitement of going through this process of give and take and then coming out on top by dint of exceptional convincing skills.

Usually, successful negotiations had one common feature: a rational, systematic negotiation process, which is always lacking in failed ones. Without a defined process, there is always an element of uncertainty while handling such situations and more often than not, the outcome is likely to be disappointing. We proceed to discuss a six step strategy which can serve as a framework to deal with any situation that might require convincing. Interestingly, non-managers often negotiate more frequently or more effectively than managers. Since a worker often has an immediate task to finish, he/she must learn to negotiate quickly and get past the obstacles. It is only when these individuals fail to negotiate under such circumstances, that the manager is asked to negotiate with his/her counterpart. It has been observed that all managers are not necessarily good negotiators but successful negotiators are always extremely good communicators.

The first of the six steps is an analysis of the negotiation situation. Now, negotiation is fundamentally a technique of problem solving and the chances for successful conclusion are greatly enhanced if the participants have a clear understanding of the problem to be solved. At the very outset, one needs to have a crystal clear idea about the problem in hand. This can be achieved through a thorough examination of the environment surrounding the negotiation, taking account of the overall goals for the negotiation and identify constraints that might be involved in the whole process. Apart from these, the history of previous relevant negotiations should also be considered to have an idea of how to go about it. Prioritization is essential to ensure orderly planning. In fact, it would be impossible to schedule an order of discussion without prioritizing which areas to focus more on.

Having taken the above factors into consideration, a carefully structured plan can be put into place for use in the negotiation. This leads us to the next stage of preparation in a negotiation, planning for upcoming negotiations. Proper planning is of paramount importance among the various pre negotiation activities. Inadequate preparation and planning leads to setting unreasonable goals, which would invariably not be met due to use of the wrong tactics and means.

Planning ensures that the negotiator anticipates what is to happen, has a rough idea of what the other party would propose and sets appropriate and reasonable objectives and strategies. It helps to bring down the ‘Surprise element’ in a negotiation, thereby allowing the participants to deal with the situation better, in a composed way. Goals should be laid down in a clear and concise fashion before embarking on a negotiation. This should be followed by establishment of objectives for the negotiations. There is a distinction between goals and objectives here. The former refer to a broad statement of purpose whereas objectives are quantitative and are more specific in nature. For example an organization might have the goal of entering a new market while the objective might be to reach a market share of 5% of market share within 24 months. The next task of the negotiator is to identify and include the stakeholders, i.e., the people who are directly or indirectly associated to the deal. The impact of the bargain on these people has to be taken into account and it has to be ensured that there is an equitable distribution of benefits among them. If it is not possible to meet all the individual desires and demands, they should at least be informed beforehand about the tradeoffs made or being considered.

The third step is organizing every aspect related to a negotiation activity with meticulous care. This is the step where, the process of detailed planning for the negotiator, building on the goals and objectives developed in steps 1 and 2, come to a conclusion. This is the final step in the phase that involves preparing for the negotiation, the activities that should take place behind the scenes. The most important product of this step is a game plan which lays out an agenda reflecting the relative importance of the issues and the order in which they will be discussed. It also involves techniques for testing and adjusting the plan prior to the actual commencement of

negotiations . While charting out the so called ‘game plan, it is necessary to gather complete relevant information which will have a role to play in the negotiations. This information could be any business plans that the opposition may have made public, rumours that may have emerged, personal information etc. The purpose of this exercise is not encroach into anyone’s personal space, but to be aware of public information which could have an impact upon the opposition’s motivation level. The information is of immense value to a negotiator since it gives him/her an idea of what is realistically attainable in a negotiation and what stance the opposition is likely to adopt. Next, before the negotiation begins in a formal manner, it is advisable to interact with the opposition over a phone call. The objective is to assess their overall perspective on the issue that is being dealt with. One has to find out in advance whether or not the opposition is favourably disposed towards the negotiation. Flexibility is extremely important while forming the game plan. The plan has to go through several stages of modification and improvement until it attains its final form. Lastly, the negotiator also has to be prepared to face surprises during the course of the negotiation since it would be a folly to expect that everything would work out according to the plan. Contingency plans and alternatives must be kept as backup during such crisis situations.

The next step is a departure from the preparatory phase and an initiation to the actual act of negotiating, i.e., gaining and then maintaining control over the state of affairs. On many occasions, we come across negotiations between people that involve confusion, lack of vision and objective and divergence from main issue, in a nutshell, a negotiation that has gone out of control. Maintaining control in negotiations involves influencing the flow, timing and content of the negotiation. It demands meticulous planning, strategy and choice of words. Once control has been gained, it is imperative to hold on to it for the rest of the negotiation process. Reaching a consensus, is the most important requirement of having control over the situation. It is defined as the process of finding a proposal acceptable enough that all members can support it or no member can oppose it. This can be achieved through effective communication among the participants. In majority of cases, it is miscommunication or lack of communication among the participants that leads to failure. Ideally, the attitude of the participants should be such, as to encourage communication. In case of a conflict within the team, the members should be encouraged to discuss the problem face to face, and away from the team setting. Thus, control can be affirmed only through relentless efforts to achieve consensus, and of course, effective communication.

In the fifth step we shall discuss techniques of closing negotiations successfully and amicably. Conventional belief says that a negotiation should culminate in an agreement and indeed, that is the desirable outcome. However, the possibility of not reaching an agreement also has to be taken into account as we plan for carrying out a negotiation. Now, the fact remains that certain individuals tend to drive matters towards an agreement more often than others. The reason behind this, is that they use a series of techniques which make it easier for the participants to reach an agreement. These techniques are:dealing with objectives, finding breakthroughs to gain acceptance, avoiding dealbreakers that throw a negotiation off course and finally, packaging the

details into acceptable alternatives for agreement. Dealing with objections demands that the negotiator anticipate all objections that might be raised during the course of the bargaining and prepare how to tackle them well in advance. Although a positive response to such objections is desirable, it might not be feasible in every situation. However, dealing with it is more effective than avoiding it altogether because this helps in getting to the root of the problem. Breakthroughs are turning points that lead to settlements. They are significant events, creative solutions, and innovative approaches which can transform a stalled or eventlessnegotiation into a very promising and fruitful one. While out of the box thinking can become dealmakers in certain cases, there is always the probability of a ‘dealbreaker’ cropping up. These are actions or words that destroy the atmosphere, create animosity on either side and wipe off any possibility of reaching an agreement. Another problem that needs to be addressed is the absence of a plan B or C when striking out a deal. On many occasions, only a single option is taken into the equation and when it fails to satisfy either of the parties, the deal falls through. Therefore, it is imperative to have a basket of alternatives that might be taken up in case one proposal fails to garner acceptability.

The final step to seal successful deals, is continuous Improvement. Having completed the negotiation one must ask him/herself questions like “What went well?”, “What went wrong?”, “What were the surprises?”, “What were the shortcomings and gains?”. One could also review the steps in the negotiation process and determine in which steps one was most and least successful. Introspection is of paramount importance in improving negotiation since it helps one in identifying past mistakes and rectify them in future dealings. We can truly learn by failure and making mistakes. But we should ensure that we won’t make the same mistake twice.”