How Can I Become More Effective as a Negotiator?
Before you enter into any negotiation, you need to be sure of why you are doing so. What specific conditions do you want to exist when an agreement is reached? Will you accept less? What is the absolute minimum you will accept?
Just as you know your needs, you need to know about your opposition’s stance, behavior, or negotiating style. How rigid will the person be? What ploys will the other party use to convince you? How confident is he or she? Spend as much time as you can with your opposition in the hours, days, and weeks leading up to the actual negotiation so you know what the opposition truly wants to get out of the negotiation.
You need to go further. Not only must you anticipate the goals of the opposition but also the strategy of the opposition. Ask yourself, "If I were in the opposition’s shoes, what strategies would I employ?" Ask yourself, too, what issues the other party is likely to bring up and want to settle before an agreement will be reached.
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You have to enter negotiations with a plan, one flexible enough that you can deviate from it as conditions change. What is your opening position? What will your response be to the several possible positions your opposition may take? What if he or she responds with a "take it or leave it" attitude? Would it make sense, if that occurs, to call a recess? Or are you or the other party rushed to reach a settlement? If so, you may want to set a timetable at the beginning of the session. While the other party may use this timetable to pressure you, you might also use this ploy to pressure the other party to settle. If you take a take-it-or-leave-it position yourself, be sure that you aren’t bluffing.
If you feel as if you can’t move further to closure, you might want to ask the other party what will close the negotiations. You may be willing to make a concession. It may be so insignificant that it won’t matter.
There is no such thing as a win/win negotiation. One person always gains a little more from a negotiation than the other. That said, you don’t want to end a negotiation by alienating the other party. Consequently, you may want to close the negotiation with a final concession—something to sweeten the pot. If you provide one final concession, the negotiation will be mutually agreeable.