Welcome To Our Article Section

Lessons In Negotiating From A Child: Picking The Right Approach For Your Sales Negotiations.

Author: Craig

Have you ever tried to reason with with a 2 year old?

Were you surprised with their negotiation skills?

Well, my son is now almost 2 and half years old and has now discovered that he has a will - a seriously strong will at that. Typical of children his age, he is far more interested in getting what he wants than with executing his mother or father's wishes.

It seems to me that as children we tend to be assertive rather than accommodating in our interaction with others. We are only concerned with meeting our own needs and wants rather than accommodating the needs and wants of those around us.

It is only as we age that we learn the world does not in fact revolve around us and that we have to fit into society in a responsible and positive way. We learn that we can not only do as we wish but also have to think about the rights, feelings and desires of others.

This made me think about the 5 fundamental negotiation approaches and how you can use them to underpin the achievement of your negotiation targets.

1.Competitive negotiation

This is a style of negotiation that is primarily assertive and focused on your own needs, desires and goals.

2.Accommodating negotiation

This is a style of negotiation that is primarily concerned only with the needs, wants and targets of your counterpart whilst ignoring your own needs. Sales training seminars often support this negotiation approach as the most suitable strategy.

3.Compromising negotiation

Probably the most famous of all negotiation strategies. This is a mode of negotiation where you meet your counterpart halfway. You get some of your needs, wants and targets met and you reciprocate for your counterpart.

4.Collaborative negotiation

This is a way of negotiation where you try to meet all of the needs, desires and objectives of your counterparts and they do the same for you.

5.Avoiding negotiation

This is a style of interaction where you do not regard negotiation as the best method to attain your goals.

The critical factors which will determine which of the above approaches should be in your negotiations is to respond to the following 3 questions:

a.What is the Importance of an ongoing relationship to you?

If the relationship is important, then you will not be able to be only assertive, you will have to at least compromise with your counterparts. If you do not satisfy the needs of your counterparts, then it is not likely that a meaningful relationship will develop.

b.How many options are available to you?

If you have a host of alternatives available, you can afford to be more competitive. Conversely, if you have only one option, then you will be required to be more accommodating.

c.How much time is at your disposal?

If you have a lot of time available, then you can afford to be more competitive. The less time available to you, the more accommodating you will have to be.

As you can see, it is important to ask yourself these three questions before you start negotiating so that you can pick the approach best suited to the situation at hand rather than just pursuing a negotiation strategy solely based on your preference.

It is also important to remember that you should be flexible in your approach. You may want to amend your strategy as new information becomes available during your negotiations.

Personal Trainers: Vital Business Partners To Improve Your Career
When personal coaches sign a client, they do not promise or guarantee that the client will reach certain goals or attain a certain level in their career. They are also clear about not putting time frames on client goals on their own.

Executive Training Can Help Your Business Development And To Achieve Your Ambitions
Executive coaching can be the ideal answer for one person or for the entire management staff of a corporation coping with challenges, old or new, but not having either the time or the desire to attend courses, lectures, workshops, or seminars

The Merchant Account Market, Using Merchant Warehouse And Levels Of Support Required
Merchant accounts are very complex and can be much more expensive than they first seem. Read this article to find out how to avoid the pitfalls.

How Should You Go Public?
There are different ways to go public in the US. There are three major levels of listing: OTC PinkSheets, OTC Bulletin Board, and major exchanges.

Enclosed Cork Boards - A Great Technique To Communicate With A Lot Of People Easily
An enclosed cork board is an excellent way to communicate with a large group of people in an unobtrusive way. If you run a school office or work in a hospital or hotel, there will be times when you will need to notify people of events or fundraisers.

The Right Way To Limit Business Travel Bills
One way that can help your business to save money is by cutting the business travel expenses. Perhaps you are one of the businessmen that have to pay quite a lot amount of money in order to cover your own or your employee business travel expenses.

Methods To Guard Your Invention To Prevent Copycats When You Have An Innovative New Invention Idea
When you come up with a new invention idea its like having that magic Eureka moment. One of the first things you should do is look to get a patent to protect you from copycats.