How to Negotiate For

What You Want

The Busy Executive’s Guide to

Effective Negotiations

Stephen Harvard Davis

We all negotiate

As a specialist working with teams to make them more profitable faster, I’ve spent many hours negotiating the details of cross-team co-operation, inter company project management and negotiating with search companies to locate and hire senior managers.

With all this experience I know that whilst each case is unique the processes, strategies and tactics are often the same.

As a result they can be modified to any situation at work, at home and on the street.

Good negotiators

• Save their company and themselves money• Develop more productive relationships• Become more effective in how they deal with other

people• Get help to realise their dreams• Reduce conflict and misunderstandings• Avoid being talked into doing things they don’t want to do• Get more of what they want

Myths

• Effective negotiation skills are reserved for shrewd and successful businesspeople and diplomats that have had extensive training.

• You have to abandon your ethics to be a good negotiator

• It takes up precious working time that could be used elsewhere

• The object is to come out “ON TOP”

• Wearing dark glasses is a good tactic because it hides the eyes

Definition

• It’s probably worthwhile deciding what the objectives of a negotiation are:

“Working with other parties to deliver mutually beneficial results”

Rule 1 : Identify the other sides position

• Ask yourself what would be your “requests, hopes, needs…etc” if you were the people you were negotiation with.

• Understanding the opposite view is probably the greatest strategy to gaining what you want.

• Don’t get angry with the other person (side). Be mature at all times.

• Expect negotiations to be amicable and moving in a direction that everyone has agreed upon

Rule 2: Research

• The more you know about the other side’s expectations the better prepared you will be.

• Understand what is expensive for you to “Give away”

• Understand what is “valuable” to the other side but “cheap” for you to give away

• If you don’t prepare the chances are that you’ll be caught off-guard and give away something you will live to regret at a later date.

• Know what you want… EXACTLY

Rule 3: When negotiating with experts…get your own

• Don’t go into a complex negotiation with lawyers without your own team of legal experts

• If you are buying a business get an accountant that understands areas such as goodwill

• When buying a business or a franchise consider engaging a good business broker as well as a lawyer that specialises in the area

Knowing what you wantSpecifics give your negotiations strength

• I want the job of Sales Director

• I want $75,000 a year

• I want freedom of action to develop the sales team

• I want insurance and pension benefits

• I want membership of the Gym

Then know what areas you can compromise

What are you prepared to compromise?

Want

• $75,000 PA• Freedom of action• Family Insurance• Pension benefits• Gym membership

Compromise

• Could not accept below $55,000

• Action after discussion with CEO

• Individual insurance• Pension benefits (No

compromise)• No gym membership

Good Phrases to keep the doors open

• “That’s an interesting possibility…what did you have in mind”

• “What made you bring that up at this point?”

• “Tell me more”

• “So that I can understand your position and what areas we might work closely together, it would help me if I could ask you some questions. Is that OK?”

• “So that I can understand better, can you explain to me why those terms are so important to you”

Good body language

• Smile• Listen intently to the other person• Listen for facts and feelings• Listen to what is NOT SAID as well as to what

is said• Respond to the speaker with questions that

stimulate the person to talk• Clarify your understanding of what has been

said at regular intervals

Good phrases to use to get clarification or to deflect an accusation

• “Why do you say that?”

• “I’m sorry, I’m confused, tell me that again”

• “Would I be right in thinking that you…”

Bad phrases

• “Can you afford it?” This focuses the person on money going out of the wallet instead of the benefits to ownership?

Tactics:Silence

• Silence. If you don’t like what’s being proposed sit back and say nothing. Often the other side will modify their position. The lesson here id who speaks soonest loses

• If you’re forced to speak, because the other side is as good at negotiating as you are then simply restate your position

Tactics“I don’t have the authority”

• “I’ll have to consult colleagues or the boss”

• If this is said to you, however, don’t assume that the statement is true. Probe what the future process would be to gain a decision and when you could all get together to discuss the issue

• To get over this possible problem it is often worth establishing at the outset of the discussion what the decision process is. “Can I ask if you are able to conclude these discussions or is there a further process to follow?”

TacticsFlag Waving

• Waving a flag to indicate that there is a proposal that could be made but could also disappear if the response is unsatisfactory is a good tactic

“If we were to offer to…. would you be able to…?”

• How would you feel if….?

The objective here is to put the ball back into the other side’s part of the court by making a non-binding offer

Tactics“By the way…”

• A tactic used by some negotiators is to make a great offer and then once agreed start to include “by the way…that would mean you would also need”

• Salespeople use this tactic with cars for instance. “The basic price is $XXX and, by the way, if you want Y as an extra then that will cost $more

• My advice is don’t use this tactic as it always suggests that if the original offer was genuinely good then you wouldn’t need to resort to this tactic

• But don’t be pressurised into accepting the “too good to be true original offer. Treat “by the way “ as a starting point to the negotiation

TacticsLegalise

• Using legaliseIf the opposition place their proposal in writing then “Question everything”.

• Most contracts can be renegotiated and the only time it can’t be changed is after it’s signed

TacticsTrade-off

• The most satisfactory negotiating tactic

• Seller asks for $25,000 for something and the Buyer offers $23,000 and they split the difference at $24,000

• One rule with Trade-off Never make a concession without getting something in return

How to avoid being manipulated

• Maintain your cool even when the other side is being aggressive. If you demonstrate that you are interested in a fail outcome then most people will start to work with you

• A useful phrase if you feel you are being manipulated would be “Why would I want to do that?”

This slideshow is provided for information and education purposes only.

Although every precaution has been taken in its preparation, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors and omissions.

Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

www.assimilating-talent.comwww.stephenharvarddavis.com