How to Conduct Successful Negotiations
Everyone negotiates. Negotiation is a necessary part of living. It is not only for lawyers, union representatives, politicians, real estate agents, and mortgage brokers. You negotiate when you buy a car or a home, ask for a pay raise, apply for a job, sue somebody, or finalize a business contract. Anytime you want something from someone that may have other interests than yours, you are potentially in a negotiating situation.
Negotiation is a skill that everyone should possess in order to get the best results they want from someone else without alienating or exploiting them. One’s aim should always be to arrived at a fair agreement. Even though both sides aims to win. Both parties’ best interests would only be served by having mutual understanding, respect, honest and acceptable options. All negotiations should be broken down into four stages. These four stages are not to be taken for granted, they are very important.
Here are the four stages for successful negotiations:
Preparation: Before you meet with the party that you will be negotiating with, you should always be prepared. For example, you need to know what option you would desire the most and the least. You should also develop a proposal that justifies what you are looking for with all necessary information being readily available for discussion. You should also have an optional proposal – if you are asked to divert from the first option.
Discussion: You and the other party should find a best suited environment to conduct negotiations and set up ample time needed for such. All facts should be presented by both parties to explain needs and interests coming from both sides. Both parties should also aim to resolve matters and concerns for a win/win outcome – explaining benefits for both sides. However, such an outcome takes work and time as presented in the following two steps.
Proposal/Counter Proposal: When you make your offer or request, the other party will most likely make a counter offer. And this can be repeated several times during the discussion with timeout to think it over. Then eventually, a new proposal and counter proposal will be introduced. It is from here on that the terms of both parties should move closer to a compromise.
Agreement/Disagreement: If there is disagreement after the new proposal and counter proposal, then the negotiations will return to the discussion stage. Also if another timeout is called everyone is back to the preparation stage. Nevertheless, disagreement should never be seen as a dead end stop. It’s a signal for everyone to try again until both parties come up with a mutually acceptable deal.
In conclusion, my hopes for you after you have read this blog, is that you are more knowledgeable of the steps needed to complete successful negotiations. Also that you will be better prepared for future negotiations that come your way. Be Blessed!
Written By: Iodelle A. Chinnery