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First Moves in Negotiating Global Agreements
Comparing local negotiations to global negotiations with a prospective foreign partner, is like trying to compare a game of chequers to a game of chess. Although both share similarities, with winning as the object, they are very different games. We have made your contacts, done our homework and spent time on negotiation preparation , and now we're ready to meet with our prospective foreign partner. Before we board the plane we have to carefully consider our opening moves, as
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Corporate Negotiation Strategy Check-List (Part 2)
This article is a continuation from Pre-Negotiation Strategy Check List Part 1. These are the remainder of factors that corporate negotiators need to take into account preparing their negotiating strategy. 9. Your Place or Mine? In much the same way as sports teams enjoy a 'home advantage', negotiators playing away from home need to adjust their game plan and corporate negotiation strategies. There are 3 possibilities to consider when deciding where the talks will occur.
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Pre-Negotiation Strategy Plan Checklist (Part 1)
To perform well, and perform well consistently, we must first learn to prepare. Ask any athlete who spends countless tedious hours preparing for a competition, or a lawyer about to step into a courtroom. At the end of our negotiation training courses, we implore our soon-to-be graduates to book time into their busy calendars to prepare for their negotiations. While many colleagues, clients, and suppliers will demand your time on a daily basis, very seldom will they remind you
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Price Tactics for Win-Lose Negotiations
There are some terms that need to be understood when you are involved in one-on-one negotiations. These are negotiations that pit two parties against each other, where the only interest is to wrest out the best value for themselves. this typically results in a win-lose or lose-lose outcome. When it comes to issues involving the price of a product or service, and there is little interest in forming a relationship, you need to know how to use the right tactics to gain the most for your
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Multiparty Negotiations (part 2)
Now that we have considered all the challenges that can be posed by multiparty negotiations in Multi-Party Negotiations (part 1), let us now turn to examining some really effective solutions and tactics, to overcome some of these barriers. 3 Primary Considerations Non - Agreement Consequences: One of the first things a negotiator needs, is to understand what costs and consequences may occur, should the group fail to reach a negotiated agreement. In other words, what are our
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Multi-Party Negotiations (part 1)
Many business partnerships that are forged in today's increasingly specialised business milieu, often involves 3 or more partners who are co-joining into complex agreements. This bubbling stew pot of positions, needs, and ambitions requires dexterous handling of the right ingredients. This ambitious blend makes the difference between savouring a rich and inviting texture of tastes, or storming out the door in disgust. It's a delicate balancing act where everyone is
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Group Negotiations
When you have a group of managers sitting in a boardroom, you could be reminded of ancient Roman days, when two or more robed members, clustered in the shadows intent on forming a power block. Plotting to cause the downfall of another member or leader. Being a Caesar or a Senator of the ruling class in Roman times, often meant a very limited life span. It was not always the greatest gig it might have seemed on the surface. At times modern budget meetings don't seem all that dissimilar,
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Negotiation Place: Does Turf Matter?
At the close of the day, I was escorted into his corner office. He was the managing partner of the law firm, and he sat behind a huge desk, in the power position. It was my final interview. If it went well, I hoped to receive a job offer. So began our negotiation. Many would state that I was already at a disadvantage. I was on his turf, in his office, at the mercy of his schedule, and he ruled the environment. I'm not so sure. While these factors can provide a leg up, I discovered some important
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Business Contract Agreement Advice
Once upon a time, business people would seal a transaction with nothing more than a robust grasp of arms or a firm handshake. When the deal fell apart, they often settled the matter through a pain filled contest of weapons. Whoever was clubbed senseless or killed lost the argument. Years down the line, someone wiser, and probably less skilled with club or sword, decided there had to be a better way. And yes Virginia (in the U.S.of A ), is where lawyers originated, and aren't we all
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Business Negotiation Preparation
All good negotiation plans are premised on well-chosen strategies and adapting our tactics to meet new challenges. Preparation is not based on guesswork but on intelligence, and even more importantly, negotiation research. It is one thing to prepare for negotiation within our own country, but it is entirely different when we consider a business partnership that operates within an altogether different culture. If we don't prepare wisely beforehand, then we're likely to
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Getting them to the Negotiation Table
We have a vision that's going to set the world on fire and make us appear like a hero, if we can pull it off. What if the other negotiator doesn't want to come to the table? What happens if we do get them there, greet them with smiles and extended hand, and they respond with grim faces shadowed with deep suspicion? To get our negotiations off to a solid positive start, there are two hurdles we need to overcome before we set out on a positive foot. The first hurdle, is to get the other side to
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Building Trust in your Business Negotiation Relationships
Businesses' long term success can be judged by the extent to which they build and nurture their relationships. Every business is dependent on their internal and external relationships, between groups and individuals. We have suppliers, customers, clients, employees, collective bargaining unions, local communities and many more. Whether we realise it or not, we interact with these groups and individuals through our relationships with them. So how do we keep these relationships
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Morals, Ethics & Feelings in Negotiation
One of my clients, a real estate developer, contacted me about a problem concerning a ten floor office building he was looking to rent. He was negotiating with a potential client, A, about renting 7 floors of the building. They almost had reached a deal but the draft of the contract was at A's office for approval. There had been no reply for a month. Meanwhile, another potential client B approached the developer about leasing the whole building at a higher rent than client A proposed
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How to Boost your Business' Negotiation Skills
We learn by doing, and by doing, we can learn even more. Makes sense doesn't it? When we stop learning, we become like the dog frantically chasing its tail, spinning around and going nowhere. Our business cannot be allowed to become like a stagnant pond, that surrenders to erosion and eventually disappears into the ever-changing landscape either. A business thrives by remaining vibrant and adapting to the whirlwind of changes that challenge us as managers. We upgrade our equipment
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Breaking Barriers to Business Negotiation Agreements
'You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you don't trust enough' Frank Crane How in the world can we ever have hope to extend our civilisation to soaring heights, poised to caress the distant stars, without cooperating with each other? A business that toils away in isolation, in today's churning and ever evolving global world of dynamic commerce, will likely shrivel and perish with barely a noticeable whimper. There are many reasons why negotiations
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Negotiation Attitudes & Behaviours - from Failure to Success
Negotiating behaviour is primarily determined by mental attitudes. If we are to excel in negotiation, as in other fields of endeavour, we must delve deeper than the process itself. If we study a process, we might become more competent car drivers, average guitar strummers, 15 minute-mile joggers or bearable after-dinner speakers. If you're pleased with achieving 45%, 50% or 55% of what's on the table, then you can settle comfortably in your comfort zone. Achieving excellence
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Boost your Negotiation Listening Skills
'Do you hear what I hear?' That's the flashing, neon question mark at crucial moments in our negotiations. When negotiators gather together after hearing someone speak, we discover that we often recall somewhat dissimilar versions about what was said. People digest what others tell them and provide their own unique interpretation about what was said to them. We're typically overconfident of having correctly heard the speaker. If someone were to tell you that you have to hone-up
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Where Will You Draw The Line in Negotiations?
Probably everyone has seen some version of the tousled haired child, daring anyone to cross a line he has drawn in the sand. We use words to sketch imaginary lines to warn of an imaginary red flag boundary where we will not be pushed any further. Tolerance limits appear and are applied everywhere in our daily lives. From borders to production expectations, from curfews when we were hormone driven teens, to how much we are willing to pay for a used auto. We set limits to add definition
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Using a Business Interpreter
"It must have got lost in the translation." This lame excuse is not something an international business negotiator wants to use when an important deal collapses. They also don't want to have an angry CEO, with beet-red face, waving a lawsuit from their foreign counterpart, and demanding to know what happened. We conduct many of our hard-won international deals in English, which is commonly viewed as the international business language. However, many negotiations require
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The Unethical Side of Negotiation
'The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple' - Oscar Wilde Welcome to the dark side! We are about to open the proverbial can of worms. This is not going to be a moralising sermon, but you are going to be asked to look inside and find out where you stand. It's unlikely you lived thus far without being 'taken for a ride', or duped by someone. Who has made it this far in life life without telling a lie? Even if it's only one of those little 'white lies', which many people accept as
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