The Art of Successful Negotiation

By Dr. Rick Goodman

The Process of Win- Win

Negotiations

• Good Agreements

• Poor Agreements

• No Agreements

Getting The Other Parties Attention

• We need their attention to negotiate

• Applies to family, friends, boss, buyers and

vendors

• Unsophisticated negotiators will negotiate without

TOP’s attention

Keeping the Other Parties Attention

• Do I have an investment (stake) in the substantive issue?

• Is my relationship with this person important to me?

• Is the transaction worth my time energy and money?

• Is the perceived alternative less attractive than negotiating

with you now?

What can you negotiate about and

who can you negotiate with?

The Two Elements in Any

Negotiation

• The substantive issue to be discussed

• The relationship you have with the other party

Negotiation Strategies Soft, Hard

and Problem-Solving

• Soft Negotiation

• Hard negotiation

The Problem-Solving Model of

Negotiation

• Separate the people from the problem

• Focus on interests not positions

• Invent options for mutual gain

• Insist on using objective criteria

Issues the Agenda Items of All

Negotiations

• Avoid Single Issue Negotiations

• Avoid Sequence Negotiations

A soft negotiation strategy, where you

lose on the issue is your best bet when

• The major issue is not important enough to you to justify the risk or cost of winning

• Maintaining a relationship with the other party is important to you

• The cost of winning would outweigh the value of winning

• Time is of the essence

• There is no better alternative

Soft negotiation saves time and

salvages relationships

• Can have personal negative consequences for

negotiator

• How will you feel in six months, if you give in or

lose on an issue now

Hard Negotiation Strategy

• The issue is so important that winning outweighs all other considerations

• You do not value the relationship at all

• It’s worth the time and expense

• You do not have a better alternative

Walk-Away situations

• The issue is not important or is not worth the time

or money

• You have low or no investment in maintaining a

relationship with the other party

Walk Away Alternatives

• The real power in negotiation lies with the party

who has the best WAWAs.

• It is perceptions that shape behavior, not reality

Summary of Walk Away Alternatives

• Preplanned your WAWAs

• Visualize yourself carrying out the WAWAs

• Guess the other parties WAWAs

• Visualize the party carrying out those WAWAs

• Continually seek to improve your WAWAs

Summary of Walk Away Alternatives

Cont.

• Do not share your WAWAs with the other side unless the negotiation looks like it is failing

• Understand that the party with the best WAWAs has the most power in the negotiation

Stage 1: Setting the Tone for the

Negotiation

• Building Relationship

• Ritual Observance

• Warming Up

Stage 2:Exploring Each Party’s

Needs

• Uncover Their Needs

• Ask Lots of Open-Ended Questions

• Share Our Own Needs and Interests

Stage 3: Developing Creative

Solutions

Stage 4: Reaching agreement

Stage 5: Reviewing and Recapping

the Agreement

After the Negotiation

• Follow-Up during the Implementation of the

Agreement

Preparation goes on before, during

and after the negotiation. Effective

preparation requires an analysis of

a number of different items before

you start your negotiations.

Five Elements of Successful

Negotiation Planning Worksheets

Items to be addressed

• Interests or Needs

• WAWAs

• Issues

• Possible Solutions

• Strategies

Analyzing Interests/Needs

Analyzing WAWAs

Identifying Issues

Forming Strategies

Planning Possible Solutions

Separate the People from the

Problem

• Negotiators are people first

• Separate yourself from the attack!

• Be aware our perceptual differences

• Acknowledge TOP’s ( and, if appropriate, your), emotion and use neutral language

• Use active listening and paraphrasing to form the baseline of understanding and communication

Focus on Interests Not Positions

• Do not assume the other side knows what their needs are.

• Do not assume that you know what your needs are in a given situation. This requires some critical self-analysis.

• If you don’t A.S.K. you won’t G.E.T.

Invent Options for Mutual Gain

• Expand the “pie”. Maybe a compromise is not necessary

• Operate out of abundance. There is enough in the universe for everyone

• Identify common interests before focusing on the differences

• Separate inventing from deciding. Invent first. Decide later.

Invent Options for Mutual Gain Cont.

• Delve into the area of possibility thinking

• Make their decision easy help TOP find solutions to their problems as well as yours

• Creativity is essential in this phase

• Have fun!

Insist on Using Objective Criteria

• Objective criteria can be used to resolve differences and to come to solutions that are fair to both parties

• Appeal to generally accepted objective criteria

• Come to an agreement on how the criteria will be used in your situation

“People do business with

people who they like who are

like them”

Dr. Rick Goodman

Active Listening Skills

• Capturing the Essence of the Communication

• The Gap

Paraphrasing Content

• Paraphrasing is capturing the essence of the content of what the speaker said and feeding it back to the speaker in your own words

• “So what you’re saying is.”

• “Tell me what I said, so are on the same page.”

Reflecting Emotions

• Modeling/Mirroring Behavior

• I Understand

• The Three F’s

Nonverbal Body Language “How to

Build Rapport”

1. Faced a speaker squarely

2. Leaned forward slightly

3. Maintain eye contact( as culturally appropriate)

4. Relax your Jaw-smile if appropriate

5. Nod your head to encourage TOP to keep speaking

6. Keep your hands and feet still

How to build rapport

7. Allow silence and pauses

8. Do not interrupt and unless you are no longer able to follow their train of thought or until they come to a natural pause-then wait before you paraphrase

9. Control other interruptions ( telephone people coming in)

10. Remember, “the gap.” Between speaking and listening and maintain your focus on the speaker

Understanding Different People

Styles

• Understanding Your Communications Style

• Recognizing a different communications style and TOP

• Adapting your behavior to accommodate TOP

Communication Skills for

Negotiators Speaking Compellingly

Managing Your Voice in Negotiation

1. Speed

2. Pitch

3. Volume

4. Intonation

Questioning Skills

• Asking Open-Ended Questions

• Asking close ended And Finite Questions

• Responding to Questions

Assertiveness: Staying Firm When

You Need to

• This does not mean standing firm on YOUR decision

• Suggesting that you brainstorm solutions together often helps

• Don’t give up, even if the impasse seems hopeless

• Sometimes you have to negotiate on how you’re going to negotiate

The Five Categories That Have Been

Shown to Break Deadlock

1. Identify interests.

2. Walk-Away Alternatives

3. Issues to Be Discussed and Included in Final

Agreement

4. Possible Solutions

5. Strategies

Follow-Up the Forgotten Element in

Negotiations

Your Strategy Depends on How the

Negotiation Goes

• If you reach agreement

• If the negotiation does not work out

Dr. Rick Goodman

Website: www.rickgoodman.com

P 888-267-6098

F (954) 404-6502

Email: rick@rickgoodman.com