Articles
Our articles are popular amongst researchers, students and business negotiators. To take your negotiation skills to the next level, enrol in our negotiation training.
Negotiating with 8 golden steps, the agreement table
People never plan to fail, but they often fail to plan. This is a sensible and shrewd maxim that has dogged many business owners through the ages. It's the prime reason why so many intrepid enterprises fail so miserably, despite the determined efforts of their proud owners. A grand idea had illuminated their hopes, and they thought or assumed they couldn't fail. They crashed into stark reality when their ledgers bled the color red, and consequently, the life of their business
Articles
Negotiation Approaches and Perspectives
'It is human nature to think wisely and act foolishly' Anatole France The worst mistakes are the ones we know we should've avoided in the first place. Yet, we will occasionally err because we are infallibly human. The best thing we can do is to try and recognise those errors that are most avoidable. When sitting down at the negotiating table, it might be a good idea to get ourselves into the habit of going through a mental checklist. This is the time to lean back and take a reality check.
Articles
Negotiation Anxiety Solved
Who We Are In both our personal and professional lives, we all have our own unique style. This is also true when dealing with problem-solving, dispute resolutions, and negotiations. Our individual personalities were formed early in childhood, tempered and sculpted by a lifetime of coping with the anxiety-provoking raw experience of life. Every situation that we face acts as a teaching aid. We learn to adapt our own unique style in tackling any future problems that lurk down
Articles
How to Behave in Japan: Appropriate Japanese Behaviour
"WHEN IN JAPAN, BEHAVE AS THE JAPANESE DO." IS THAT REALLY BEING CULTURALLY INTELLIGENT? Deciding on the right nuance of culturally appropriate behavior in Japan is not easy. I used to work with Colorado-born Fred Hevers in Tokyo. He spoke astonishingly fluent Japanese, much better than mine. Impertinent though it was of me, I once suggested to him that he was far too polite when he spoke to many Japanese. He took it well, and seemed to ponder it. We both moved on to other jobs. When
Articles
ZOPA Negotiation (the Zone Of Possible Agreement)
What Does ZOPA Stand For? ZOPA might almost sound like a foreign word for a cheer of joy, or maybe even a new and exciting soft drink about to splash the marketplace. It's neither, but if you have a wide ZOPA in your negotiation, it's nearly as sweet. Negotiation ZOPA stands for Zone Of Possible Agreement. It's the blue sky range where we can make deals that both sides in a negotiation find acceptable. Whether we're buying something at a bustling yard sale or entering into a complex
Articles
Avoiding Common Pitfalls during Negotiations in China
Western business people are flocking to the Far East. China has clearly become one of the most sought after places that offer a near endless source of potential market growth. For many westerners, the eastern part of the world is a place steeped in mystery and a culture, both alien and fascinating to our way of doing things. China is a vast potential marketplace of over a billion plus potential. Millionaires spring up like weeds virtually overnight, while millions of peasants
Articles
Knowing When It's Time to Walk-Not Talk
"A long dispute means both parties are wrong." Voltaire Knowing when and how to negotiate is one thing. Knowing when not to negotiate at all, is an altogether different matter. Every savvy negotiator is aware that there are times to break off the talks for now, in order to enhance the talks later. Reasons could include a cooling off process or to re-evaluate new information. However, there are other thorny conditions which can crop up when the circumstances compel you to not negotiate
Articles
Principal and Agents in Negotiation
In negotiations, you have to know who's sitting at the table. Some of these individuals can make binding decisions on the spot. In many other situations, the people involved represent the decision makers. They may have only limited authority. Or, they may have no authority at all. Let's look at this in more detail. Principals In all negotiations, the principle parties are the decision makers. These are the people who ultimately make or break the deal. These are the 'Top Dogs'.
Articles
Business Negotiations in Japan
Shattering Common Stereotypes I discovered many things from my 1980s consulting and training work in Japan. One of them was that Westerners in business meetings with Japanese were generally more ill at ease, uncomfortable, and awkward than were the Japanese. This went so much against the stereotypes that both Westerners and Japanese business people shared. People generally viewed the Japanese as shy violets; Westerners as sociable and extroverted. My research about businesspeople,
Articles
The Trust Building Process in Japanese Society
Build Trusting Relationships The Japanese believe that once the initial contact and introductions are completed, the next stage of the process involves developing trust through deeper knowledge of what the Westerners have to offer. This includes: How we handle ourselves as businesspeople and managers. Our efficiency, manufacturing methods, and the standard of quality of our products. Whether or not we are people they can do business with. There are times when the seller
Articles
Negotiation Positions vs. Interests
When two people take opposing sides on an issue in a dispute, they both often refuse to budge from their differing viewpoints. The result is a stalemate. If both sides find a solution, then both can win. We call this resolution a win-win negotiation outcome. You can achieve a win-win by training yourself to pay attention to the interests driving the other side's position in a negotiation. The Negotiation Position The simple reason why many people fail to find a negotiated agreement
Articles
Your Ideal Negotiation Meeting Location
The question as to where a negotiation should ideally take place is a critical one and gives rise to both well-thought advice and knee-jerk reactions. The most widely held belief taught on most sales negotiation courses and buyer negotiation courses is that negotiators are at an advantage holding negotiation meetings on their own territory. I would like to offer some alternative food for thought. Negotiation text books often make analogies with sports events where, true
Articles
Ways to rationalize a stalled negotiation
Everything at the office was moving smoothly along until a nasty little hurricane decided to tear a hole in your supply line. In a time of short supply and high demand, your main supplier is sitting across from you at your desk. He is poking his finger in the air for emphasis, while loudly demanding a 20% increase in their delivery costs. He ends his tirade by telling you that he is,' Not going to budge.Period!' Now, you ask yourself, how am I going to deal with this guy when my company
Articles
Sales Team Negotiation Training: Customized Case Studies
The Negotiation Experts make extensive use of case studies and negotiation training games in training sales negotiation teams. Simulating commercial sales negotiation training scenarios customized to our client's business reality is the best way to assess sales negotiators' strengths and weaknesses. There's no better method of rapid feedback. Mistakes in role-playing don't end up costing sales revenue or sales margin, and role-plays are highly engaging. In this article,
Articles
Frameworks in Negotiations
Preparing for a negotiation can be equated to a couple coming together to build their dream house. Each will have different ideas and visions,on how the house will be designed. They both want the house, but their interests in what they want to derive from the functionality of the house will vary from their unique perspectives. One wants a brightly lit solarium filled with tropical plants; the other wants a roomy workshop. They can either work at cross purposes and end up in a drawn
Articles
Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts
Resolving interpersonal conflicts in the workplace is a healing process often utilized by management. However, it's also a powerful tool that management doesn't often make available to front-line workers. This can be a costly mistake. Interpersonal conflicts between co-workers, can escalate and lead to harmful and bitter repercussions. The resulting damage, if not immediately addressed, can have a negative impact on both morale and productivity. The Issue of Interpersonal
Articles
Negotiating Skills give you options in the Furniture Store
"Let me propose a few options, each of which would be acceptable to us," I said to the furniture store manager in our negotiation. "Either provide us with 80% of our money back for the practically unused piece of furniture we purchased or give us store credit for the full amount. Bear in mind that we just bought a new house. We may very well purchase more items at your store in the future." "Interesting," he replied. "I'll give the owner a call and see what he thinks. Of course, as you know,
Improve your Employees' Negotiation Skill Outcomes
If your company is like the majority of companies today, you are looking at the bottom line seeking for ways to improve results. The negotiating skills of your employees control revenues, and have a direct and significant bearing on financial performance. Employees are negotiating regularly, with customers and suppliers to buy and sell goods and services. In fact, most every relationship a company has must be negotiated or re-negotiated at some point. Most employees entrusted
Articles
Public Leverage in Negotiation Outcomes
Seldom does a day go by that I don't read in a newspaper about a high-profile negotiation. Perhaps it is a union picketing when talks break down, or a board of directors attempting to ward off an unwanted merger. It might even entail the possible settlement of a litigation lawsuit between prominent companies. When I read about these, I often think about why the negotiation has "gone public." My first thought always is to assess who initiated the public coverage of the negotiation.
Articles
Gender Differences in Negotiations
In their book, Women Don’t Ask (2003), Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever state that 57% of male Carnegie Mellon graduate business students negotiate their starting salaries. However, only 7% of women negotiate salaries. This difference results in men's starting salaries that are 7.6% higher than women's. Why don’t women attempt to negotiate as often as men? If women did negotiate, is there any reason to think women would not do as well? When men and women negotiate with
Articles
