Five Concepts for Effective
Negotiation
by Tracy L. Bullock
Negotiation is inevitable, whether we like it or not. Often seen as a win/lose
situation versus a give/take proposition, the entire process of negotiation is
frequently intimidating. Fears of failure and risks of being taken advantage
of frequently overshadow the possibility of gains and visions of success. The
fundamental consideration in any negotiation is why you want to do business
in the first place. There is no “right” for the wrong product, even if the price
is low.1
Five Concepts for Effective Negotiation
1. Planning & Preparation — The single biggest payoff in any negotiation is
the time devoted to your planning and preparation. It’s
not enough to research the other product, company or
individual, you must also understand the objective of
the negotiation itself. Devise a plan:
• What knowledge do you have?
• What value do you have that is intrinsically
yours?
• Is this a short- or long-term relationship
commitment?
• What sources of power do you have?:
3Competition
3Brands/Experience
3Clientele
3Centers of Influence
3Money
3Knowledge
3Personal Presence
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What power sits on the other side of
the table?
What skills do you bring? What skills
do you need?
Is time a factor? Is this a leverage
point in your favor or in theirs?
2. Set a Goal — Start with the end in
mind and continue as if you mean to
finish successfully. Too often a goal of
“Do your best,” is the only target we
set for our success. What is our best?
By what measure and did our “best”
deliver business results worth the effort?
Without a goal, we sound like Alice, in
Alice in Wonderland:
Would you tell me, please, which way I
ought to go from here?
That depends a good deal on where you
want to get to.
I don’t much care where –
Then it doesn’t matter which way you go. Well-defined behaviors in negotiation
are driven by clear strategy. If you can’t
state your desired outcome in a sentence
or two, you can’t sell it. A strategy
without clearly defined long- and
short-term goals is only a vision with
no hope of success. The actions needed
by everyone on your negotiation team
to deliver those plans requires guts, as
well as a willingness, to “show up.” This
is where personal presence is key. You
must show up to play. Sales coach David
Sandler states that, “It’s not how you feel
that determines how you act, but how
you act that determines how you feel.”
3. Raise your Aspirations to Raise
your Expectations — Research shows
that people raise their expectations
following success and lower them after
failure. Great success leads to greatly
raised aspirations, and great failure
results in a severe drop of confidence.
Those who attribute success or failure
to their own doing are more apt to
respond in this manner. Without a
goal for business success, as well as
personal achievement, you’ll never
get to that ever-moving horizon. Does
your planned approach lead you to
challenging targets to achieve greater
goals, or easy-to-reach targets that
deliver more of the same? Neither
success nor failure is experienced if
Learn more about this topic and more at the ...
Corporate Finance Conference
Aug. 24
• Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage in a Time
of Change – Dr. Amy Hillman,
Dean, W. P. Carey School of
Business
• Negotiation Skills: Building
Relationships and Importance of Concessions – Tracy
Bullock, Bullock Training &
Development
• Don’t Wait Too Late to Build
Relationships for Professional
Advancement – Michael Seaver,
Executive Coach
• Cybercrime Targeted Toward
Financial Departments –
Rodney Joffe, Senior VP,
Senior Technologist, and
Fellow, Neustar, Inc.
• Being Powerfully Productive:
Enhancing Your Effectiveness –
Margo Brown, Wave Productivity
• Value of a Professional Employer
Organization (PEO) – Dana
Noone, ADP
20
AZ CPA JULY/AUGUST 2016
Special Thanks to Platinum Sponsor:
targets are too easy or too difficult to
reach.
4. Don’t Assume — You know the old
saying, but in negotiation, things are not
what they appear to be. Don’t sell your
idea the way you’d like to buy one – be
confident and focus on how the other
side of the table wants to buy. Active
listening and clarifying not only WHAT
you heard, but WHY they asked, will
make all the difference in appropriate
responses … and will help control the
shift in power. The power of 3+1 works
here: reverse the questions 2-3 times to
understand the reason behind “the ask,”
and you’ll get to the one true motive and
have a more educated way to respond.
5. Plan your Concessions — One man’s
trash is another man’s treasure. It’s a
saying that truly demonstrates that
value is in the eye of the beholder. The
key to giving and getting concessions
is as much in how you deliver the
concession as in what you’re willing
to give to get. Remember, you don’t
have to give something up for every
concession they make. “No” is an
acceptable answer ... if you’re willing
to say it. Too many people are afraid
of saying no. (“It’s impolite.” “I’ll shut
them down.” “I’ll lose the relationship.”)
Actually, knowing your “walk-away”
point is as important to any negotiation
as knowing your product/services,
having great skills, and a solid plan.
No one ever said negotiation is easy,
and you may think that those who enjoy
it are crazy, but planning, preparation
and clarifying your purpose and
responses will accelerate business gains
through effective communication. n
1.
Effective Negotiating by Dr. Chester
L. Karrass.
Tracy L. Bullock is president of Bullock
Training & Development, Sandler Training.
She will be a speaker at the Corporate
Finance Conference on Aug. 24. Contact
her at (602) 524-3950, tracy.bullock@
sandler.com or www.tbullock.sandler.com.