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Your Insufficiently Developed Business Negotiation Skills Capability Could Cause Critical Negotiations To Collapse Due To Insufficient Planning

Author: Craig

Two people are busy in a negotiation - one succeeds in achieving his/her objective(s) and is satisfied, whilst the other walks away dissatisfied with the result. Does this scenario sound familiar?

How often have you felt dissatisfied with a settlement that you have reached? Have you ever entered into a settlement only to feel remorse soon after reaching agreement?

SUCCESS VS FAILURE

What distinguishes success vs failure in commercial negotiations?

Most of us recognise the significance of preparation to deliver positive results and it is therefore interesting to note that most business negotiators do not spend adequate time preparing for negotiations, often due to inadequate negotiation training. Professional sports people spend significantly more time preparing for competition than they spend in competition; should it be any different for business negotiators?

THE EVIDENCE

Business negotiators only spend roughly 1/3 as much time preparing for negotiation as they actually spend in negotiation. If you were a professional sports person, this would mean that you applied only 1/3 as much time training & planning as you do in competition. The number 1 factor to successful business negotiation outcomes is the quality of your preparation for the negotiation.

As a matter of negotiation strategy, consider the following main 5 elements of preparation and at the same time you will also develop your negotiation skills:

1. Understand Yourself

Before we even employ best- and leading practice negotiation, it is imperative that we first understand our own strengths & weaknesses and it is key that we make use of personal profiling tools to highlight our areas of preference within the context of business negotiations, which enables us to have a reference point from which to plot our skills development.

2. Vision

What is the ultimate aim behind the negotiation? Is the negotiation about price or is it about the value that can be added? What are the key motivating issues behind your counterparty's position? What mutual ground, if any, exists between your and your counterparty's vision? It is important to understand the drivers or silent motivations behind the positions of all parties to the negotiation and it is only by asking questions that we will uncover these motivations.

3. Value

What are the key deal goals being targeted in this negotiation? What are the facts and figures contributing to the negotiation environment? What options does each party have, if any? Once again we should try to identify, prioritise & weigh the objectives of all parties to the negotiation and only then are we in a position to highlight those objectives that are shared and at the same time deal with those objectives that are likely to produce conflict.

4. Process

Have you spent time thinking about an agenda for your forthcoming negotiation? Have you listed all the trades that you will make & receive? Do you have tools/templates at your disposal to support the efficiency of the negotiation cycle.?

5. Relationship

It is easy to forget that we deal with individuals who have goals & aspirations not unlike our own and it is not always just about the money. The research is clear that people are more likely to deal with those whom they trust & like, than with those with whom they little in common. Try to focus on those things that you share with your negotiation counterparts, and do not forget to focus on the people.

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