Two people are engaged in a negotiation - one reaches his/her objective(s) and is satisfied, whilst the other walks away unhappy with the outcome. Does this scenario sound familiar?

Do you often feel displeased with an agreement that you have reached? Have you sometimes entered into an agreement only to feel remorse soon after sealing the deal?

SUCCESS VS FAILURE

What distinguishes success vs failure in business negotiations?

Most of us understand the importance of preparation to achieve success and it is therefore interesting to note that most commercial negotiators do not spend enough time planning for negotiations, often due to poor negotiation training. Professional sports people spend significantly more time preparing for competition than they spend in competition; should it not be the same for commercial negotiators?

THE EVIDENCE

Business negotiators only spend more or less 1/3 as much time planning for negotiation as they in reality spend in negotiation. If you were a professional sports person, this would mean that you spent only 1/3 as much time training & planning as you do competing. The foremost contributor to profitable business negotiation outcomes is the quality of your preparation for the negotiation.

As a matter of negotiation strategy, consider the following key 5 factors of preparation and at the same time you will simultaneously develop your negotiation skills:

1. Understand Yourself

Before we even employ best- and leading practice negotiation, it is key that we first understand our own strengths & weaknesses and it is key that we make use of personal profiling tools to highlight our areas of preference within the context of business negotiations, which enables us to have a reference point from which to plot our skills development.

2. Vision

What is the fundamental aim behind the negotiation? Is the negotiation about price or is it about the value that can be added? What are the key motivating factors behind your counterparty's position? What mutual ground, if any, exists between your and your counterparty's vision? It is vital to comprehend the drivers or silent motivations behind the positions of all parties to the negotiation and it is only by asking questions that we will discover these interests.

3. Value

What are the main deal goals being pursued in this negotiation? What are the facts and figures strengthening the negotiation environment? What options does each party have, if any? Once again we should try to recognise, prioritise & weigh the objectives of all parties to the negotiation and only then are we in a position to highlight those goals that are shared and at the same time deal with those objectives that are likely to cause conflict.

4. Process

Have you spent time thinking about an agenda for your forthcoming negotiation? Have you noted all the concessions that you will make & receive? Do you have tools/templates at your disposal to support the efficiency of the negotiation process.?

5. Relationship

It is easy to forget that we deal with individuals who have goals & aspirations not unlike our own and it is not always just about the contractual terms. The research is clear that people are more likely to agree with those whom they trust & like, than with those with whom they little in common. Try to focus on those things that you share with your negotiation counterparts, and do not forget to focus on the human elements.