Coming to agreement on what to have for dinner is a negotiation. We negotiate when to meet and how to spend the evening. Any time you want to influence the way people act or decide, it is a negotiation. Most of the time you are not even aware of it. Every request for a holiday, every task assignment, every decision involving the agreement of others is a negotiation.
To negotiate is to come to agreement. It involves discussion between at least two parties, with the objective of reaching a mutual settlement on some matter or issue. Every situation that requires agreement is an opportunity to negotiate. Every agreement had the potential to be a negotiation, whether you negotiated or not.
Everything is Negotiable
When shopping at exclusive clothing stores where prices are clearly marked, are the prices fixed or are they mere suggestions? Junior sales clerks probably think the prices are fixed. Senior staff will know better.
What people fail to do in most purchase situations is "open the bidding". Offer to buy an entire outfit if they take 20% off the price of the coat you have been looking at. If the clerk you are dealing with does not agree or take your offer seriously, either ask to speak to someone more senior or raise your bid. Offer to buy two complete outfits instead of one. Keep "upping" your offer until you find their breaking point.
Of course, the store's management may not negotiate until your offer is very generous. You may be required to spend $2,000 on footwear to receive a 25% discount on sweaters. However, once management gives you a number, the bidding is formally open and haggling begins.
Ultimately the best deal you can get may not be good enough. Both sides then walk away. You haven't lost anything by asking for a discount, but they have lost your business by not meeting you halfway. A smart store manager would not let you leave empty-handed.
The point is that everything is negotiable. Some people just do not realize it. It may not always be worth the trouble to negotiate a lower price or a different deal, but the option is there if you have the patience.
Recognition is Key
Savvy businesspersons know that prices and conditions are never fixed. Everything is negotiable, and all transactions are negotiations.
Professional managers need to become proficient negotiators. Every situation needs to be gauged in terms of one's bargaining position versus the position held by the other side. Excellent managers learn to make every transaction an active, conscious negotiation because practice makes perfect. Negotiation is a skill you develop.
Overview
In this paper we will discuss the following principles of successful negotiations. If you understand and heed these fundamentals, your negotiation experiences will be more pleasant and more successful.
1. Let everyone win
2. Ignore stated policies and rules-everything is open
3. Get their attention-show them you're serious
4. Never believe opening claims
5. Always have a partner-never work alone
6. Give yourself multiple options
7. Cast a big shadow
8. Be patient-let them cave in
9. Prepare-know what is important to them
10. Shut up-let them talk while revealing nothing yourself
11. Keep it private
12. Negotiate from their perspective
13. Money isn't everything
14. Know what you want-and do not become greedy
15. Meet on your home turf
Negotiations do not need to be, nor should they be, battles. The vast majority of negotiations are between yourself and someone with whom you are working and with whom you will be negotiating again. It does not make sense, in the long term, to treat each negotiation as a win/lose proposition.
The art of negotiation is to reconcile what constitutes a good result for both sides. Both sides need to come out ahead. Having one side lose only creates animosity and vengeance motives for the next negotiation.
Whether or not a negotiation results in a loser is entirely dependent on the way negotiations take place and how the results are packaged. One's perspective on the outcome has almost nothing to do with the terms of agreement. If you think you were cheated, you were, whether you got what you came for or not.
