Our view on negotiators
AS A NEGOTIATOR be your best self at the negotiating table
Your unique and greatest strength is your personal style.
As a negotiator you are friendly and determined. You are well prepared, have a sense of timing, always aim for the best result and combine negotiation with appropriate communication.
You are not a scientist or an idealist who strives for a perfect solution, but you aim for the best deal, inside your negotiating mandate, to which your counterparts can also adhere to.
With your counterparts, build a respectful relationship and be solution-oriented.
Be credible, predictable, trustworthy, helpful and defuse irritants. Do not take your desires for reality and do not take unfamiliar reactions from the other side of the table personally.
Learn as much as you can about your counterparts and their positions. But remember that understanding your counterparts is not the same as agreeing with their positions. Negotiations are about trading interests, not feelings. Don’t seek friendship with your counterparts.
AS A NEGOTIATOR...
Negotiations start with preparation, i.e. intelligence and negotiation research, not with guesswork
- On content: Know the offensive and defensive interests and flexibilities of the parties
- On process: Know what is suitable to us and to them and to our common goal to close negotiations
- On timelines: Know what is conducive to success - ours and theirs
Take the lead in the negotiation, set the agenda and frame the discussion
- Clarify with counterparts the objective and starting point of the negotiation
- Clarify where you agree and where you don't on content, process and timelines
- Identify pressure points and benchmarks
Narrow down differences to tackle: What is negotiable and what is outside the scope?
Only exchange concessions when there is a serious chance of achieving a result
A negotiating table does not stand alone in a room
- You negotiate within your organisation and with your hierarchy to define your mandate and strategy
- You negotiate at the table with people with different interests, who you have to understand and stand up to
- You negotiate at neighbouring tables with stakeholders who scrutinise your work
Negotiations require parallel decisions on content, process and timelines at each table
- Negotiating is a temporary forced partnership
- You negotiate with whoever is across the table and you do not question the opposite teams’ personnel line-up
- You and your negotiating partners represent organisations and not yourselves at the negotiating table
- Do not embarrass your counterparts, especially not in public
You can only deliver successfully on a negotiation by working together with your counterparts
- Negotiating is a 24/7 job: Whenever you communicate with your counterparts, you are negotiating
- Only 7% of communication is through the words we use. What matters most is non-verbal body language and how and when you say what
- Negotiation is not just about give and take; it is also about explaining positions and building goodwill for your arguments and situation
- Written words carry more weight than spoken words. Submit papers which can serve as an anchor around which the talks will revolve
Address each constituency involved in your negotiations with the necessary attention