Your Negotiations

A negotiation must be prepared and your Preparation for Negotiation must answer with clarity these 7 questions:

Why? Who? What? When? Where?

How? and How much?

Why is it that your negotiation skills will be so important?

• To create win-win situations
• To explore alternative routes and possibilities
• To improve cost, value-adds and terms
• To build long-term relationships
• To show respect and understanding
• To gain confidence and self-worth

Who do you normally negotiate with?

The short answer is... anyone! but the most important thing to do before going into negotiation is to ensure that you are negotiating with the right decision-maker, or someone who has the ferm capacity to influence the decision-making process.

Examples of Negotiations in the Workplace:

• Negotiating agreements with vendors
• Negotiating with a customer over price and terms of a sale 
• Negotiating a legal settlement 
• Negotiating a contract for consulting or freelance services
• Negotiating a project deadline
• Negotiating a conflict of interest between teams
• Negotiating a salary offer
• Negotiating a promotion
• Forging union contracts
• Negotiating a leave of absence or the timing of a vacation
• Negotiating the terms of a separation with an employer
• Negotiating roles and workload within a project team
• Negotiating a more flexible work schedule
• (...)

When is a good time to start and finish a negotiation?

The short answer is... anytime! as long as you reach a fair agreement... However, time pressure and deadlines are very much used to push the other party into an agreement. Experience has taught us that deadlines are almost always flexible and hardly ever trigger the consequences we think- or are told- they will. So take the time needed to make a satisfactory agreement for yourself and for the other party.

Where should a negotiation take place?

It depends on the context and the nature of the business. Often, the buyer will invite the seller at their premises, but it may as well be the opposite... Good negotiators don't really care.

Unlike football, we do not perform better because we play home...

How do you make sure that your negotiation will work?

• Active Listening
• Addressing Misunderstandings
• Analytical skills
• Anticipating Negotiating Strategy of your Counterpart
• Asking Others to Propose Solutions
• Asking Probing Questions
• Assertiveness 
• Avoiding Ultimatums and Provocative Language
• Brainstorming Options
• Building Rapport
• Compromise
• Creativity
• Decision Making
• Demonstrating Understanding of the other Party's Position
• Drawing Consensus
• Empathy
• Facilitating Group Discussion
• Flexibility
• Forging Trust
• Gathering all the Relevant Facts 
• Honesty 
• Identifying Areas of Disagreement
• Offering Compensation for Concessions
• Persuasion
• Planning
• Presentation
• Problem solving
• Remaining Calm
• Strategizing
• Summarizing Areas of Agreement
• Tact

How much money can a negotiation make you save or earn?

• You will always win something out of a negotiation... At the very least, the exchange of valuable direct and indirect information...
• Never go to a negotiation without knowing how much other providers or traders ask for the same kind of products or services...
• Don't go to a negotiation without anticipating your best case scenario and your worst case scenario...
• Don't start a negotiation without knowing the best and worst case scenario of the other party...
• Know your BATNA ( Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) and your ZOPA ( Zones of Possible Agreement)...

Negotiation Strategies and Tactics to Land You a Better Deal