Archive for December, 2008

Newer Entries »

How To Hire A Negotiator

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
Sometimes It Is Desirable To Bring In A Negotiator From The Outside

Sometimes It Is Desirable To Bring In A Negotiator From The Outside

In life, there are some situations that you will be called on to negotiate in order to get what you want / need.  However, there will also be situations in which you have the time (and the budget!) to reach out and get outside help.

Getting outside negotiating help can be especially critical if the type of negotiation that you are preparing to start is of a very technical or detailed nature. If you can find someone who has “been there, done that” you can significantly improve the odds of being successful in the negotiations. Now the big question is just how does one go about hiring a negotiator?

The challenge in interviewing someone to do negotiating on your behalf is that negotiation is a very difficult job to do. The reason that negotiating is such a challenge is because it doesn’t just require one or two specific skills, but rather a whole collection of skills that we really don’t find in business.

At a very high level, a good negotiator has the ability to show good business sense while at the same time displaying a deep understanding of how people think and act. It is a rare thing indeed to find both of these qualities in a single individual. Couple that with any special knowledge or experience that you are looking for and choosing the wrong negotiator to represent you can appear to be all too easy.

The following 10 characteristics of a good negotiator are what you should be looking for when you are interviewing possible candidates. It’s going to take some probing on your part to uncover these traits, but it will be worth the effort:

  1. Must have the ability to negotiate well with members of YOUR team. If the candidate can’t win the confidence of your team, how can you expect him to succeed in the negotiation with the other side?
  2. Must show that he/she has the ability to construct a plan and the commitment to follow it through. The ability to realize that not all information may be available before the negotiation starts and the willingness to check facts and alter plans as new details emerge are also critical.
  3. Did I mention the need for sound business sense? The ability to see through the fog of negotiations and identify the issues that will have an impact on your bottom line is key.
  4. The ability to deal with both ambiguity (both before and during the negotiations) as well as conflict during the actual negotiations.
  5. The willingness to aim high when setting goals for the negotiations.
  6. The ability to realize that a negotiation is a process and the patience to wait for the other side to reveal more so that the process can move forward.
  7. The ability to personally connect with both your team and the other side. Yes, negotiation is a business process, but the personal touch can make all the difference when it comes to closing the deal.
  8. A realization that his / her personal integrity is what matters above all else.
  9. The ability to, no matter how heated a discussion gets, listen with an open mind to what the other side is saying.
  10. The self-confidence that is needed to see a negotiation through from start to finish.

What else do you think should be added to my list? Is there anything on the list that you think could be dropped? Which one of these 10 items is the most important in your opinion? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in negotiation skills | 2 Comments »

Negotiation Do’s & Don’ts From The Master Negotiators

Thursday, December 4th, 2008
Master Negotiators Use Many Different Skills To Achieve Their Goals

Master Negotiators Use Many Different Skills To Achieve Their Goals

If only there was some book, some DVD to watch, or some class that you could take that would provide you with access to all of the secrets of those master negotiators whom we are always reading about. You know the ones, they negotiate the billion dollar business deal, the hostage negotiations, they settle the labor strikes, and they come up with solutions to lawsuits before they hit the courts. Just what are their secrets?

As we’ve discussed before, there are no such courses, DVDs, or courses to take because of the nature of negotiating: it’s not just a couple of key ideas, but rather a whole bunch of very small things that when taken together make a master negotiator.

However, there is no need to despair! The good folks over at Karrass have been doing research into what makes a good negotiator for quite some time. Based on this they have been able to pull together a list of ten things that a master negotiator needs to be able to do.

What I’m hoping that you’ll get from this list is the awareness that there is nothing earth shattering here. No great secrets are revealed. No hidden negotiating ninja secrets are being brought to the surface for the first time. Rather, a set of skills are being identified as being those skills that a master negotiator needs to have.

It’s not that a master negotiator has just one of these skills that makes them so skillful. Rather it’s the fact that they have ALL of these skills that makes them a master negotiator. Now there’s something to think about! Here’s the list, let’s see how many of these negotiating skills you already have:

  1. Nothing Is Fixed: Don’t let the other side of the table try to intimidate you with “last & final” offers, firm fixed prices, or even “take it or leave it” statements. Remember -  this is a negotiation and that means that everything is negotiable.
  2. Deeper Is Better For Both Sides: Although you are negotiating directly with the person(s) on the other side of the table, you are really negotiating with their entire organization. This means that before your negotiating partner can agree to your terms, they are going to have to get buy-in from their organization. During your negotiations you need to cover all of the key details in enough depth that the other side will be able to thoroughly explain the deal internally.
  3. Got To Get Satisfaction: Forget win-lose, win-win, etc. Negotiating is all about making sure that both sides come away feeling satisfied with the outcome. Although it’s easy to focus on the stated negotiation issues, be sure to look for other “hidden” issues that are also important to the other side. Addressing these issues will boost satisfaction and increase the probability of reaching agreement.
  4. These Boots Are Made For Walking: One of the most powerful negotiating techniques is also one of the most difficult to do – leave & walk out. This by itself would kill a negotiation, so you also have to master the other half of this skill – you need to know when to return later.
  5. Conflict Is King: The very reason that you are negotiating is because there are differences between both sides. Differences mean that there will be conflict. You need to be able to deal with conflict. If you have an overpowering need to be liked, then you will end up giving too much away during the negotiation just to be reassured that the other side likes you in the end.
  6. Too Much: In any negotiation, you can screw up. You can end up asking the other side for more than they are willing / able to give. When you realize that you’ve done this is the time for you to take a step back and tell the other side that you are willing to renegotiate. No matter what, make sure that you show empathy for the other side’s situation.
  7. No Such Thing As Too Much Education: You will never know everything that there is to know about negotiation. There are so many small tricks & techniques that it will take you a lifetime to master even some of them. This means that you always need to be reading and studying in order to boost your knowledge of negotiating strategy & tactics.
  8. Aim High: Where you end up in a negotiation has a great deal to do with where you set your target. If you aim high, then you will be prepared to take the negotiating risks that go with higher goals. Lofty goals don’t come easily so you are going to have to be willing to work hard and to take your time.
  9. Be Testy: Since you can never completely know what the other side of the table is thinking, you need to always be testing him / her. You just might surprise yourself when the other side gives in to one of your demands. Once again, this type of testing requires that you take your time and be very, very patient.
  10. Take Your Team To School: Negotiating is often a team sport and you want your team to be in the best shape possible. You need to make sure that your team has been trained to negotiate the way that you want them to. This is the one area that investing in quality training (just like the training offered by Blue Elephant Consulting) can really pay dividends.

How many of these tips do you already use in your negotiations? Which ones were new to you? How do you keep improving your negotiating skills? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in negotiation skills | 3 Comments »

The Power Of Planning Your Next Negotiation

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
Planning Before You Start To Negotiate Determines How It All Turns Out

Planning Before You Start To Negotiate Determines How It All Turns Out

Your parents, teachers, best friends, financial planners, parole officers, etc. were all right when they told you that in order to be successful in life you really need to plan, plan, plan. In the world of business, planning is a part of almost all activities; however, it’s in the area of negotiations that business planning will provide you with the greatest return on your investment of time.

With all of this being said, you would think that planning would be second nature to anyone who is getting ready to enter into negotiations. You would be wrong.

It’s not so much that folks forget to research the other side of the table (Google has made that easy to almost instantaneously), but rather that we don’t spend enough time understanding what WE are trying to get out of the negotiating.

The following steps will help you to put together a great plan for your next negotiating session:

Pick A Good Negotiator

Maybe the negotiator is you, but if it isn’t, then make sure that you pick someone who know how to negotiate. Included in this person’s set of skills should be a strong ability to work with teams and the ability to control their emotions.

Plug In To Your Power Sources

The key to having a successful negotiation is to make sure that you are negotiating from a source of power – hopefully a more powerful position than the other side of the table. This means that you need to take the time to identify your sources of power.

Remember that we always have MORE power than we initially think that we do. Additionally, study the other side’s sources of power also. They almost always have LESS power than we initially think that they do.

One Night Stands vs. Long Term Relationships

Are you preparing to negotiate with someone that you will end up having a long-term relationship with? If so, then this means that you have not only short-term goals, but also long-term goals that need to be considered.

Why Are They Willing To Negotiate?

Making sure that you truly understand why the other side of the table is there in the first place can be key to creating a solution that works for all. If you can uncover what their motivation is, then you have solved half of the problem of creating a solution that will work for both of you.

Goals Are Good

Knowing what motivates you is just as important as understanding the other side’s motivation. You need to further understand what it’s going to take in order for you to leave the negotiations feeling satisfied. This means that you need to have very clear goals so that you’ll know when you have reached them.

Become A Time Lord

One hidden aspect of any negotiation is that everything changes. The things that we are negotiating for have had a value in the past, they have a different value today, and they’ll have yet another value sometime off in the future. We need to be able to realize this and consider all three values when we are negotiating for something.

There you have it – the basic building blocks that need to go into the planning that you do for your next negotiating session. With these taken care of, you’re almost guaranteed to be successful!

What type of planning do you do today before you start a negotiation? Do you always have a chance to do this preparation or do you find yourself being thrown into negotiation sessions unprepared? Which of these planning steps do you feel are the most important to you? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are thinking.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in planning | 6 Comments »

Newer Entries »