Win-win negotiation
In a win-win negotiation, both parties need to reach an agreement. They say you’re not worth what you are, but what you know how to negotiate. What are our strengths? How is negotiation defined in relation to sales? What are the main techniques? The negotiator’s strengths A negotiator ‘s greatest strength is the other party’s […]
In a win-win negotiation, both parties need to reach an agreement. They say you’re not worth what you are, but what you know how to negotiate. What are our strengths? How is negotiation defined in relation to sales? What are the main techniques?
The negotiator’s strengths
A negotiator ‘s greatest strength is the other party’s desire to make a deal, while his greatest weakness is his own desire to get a deal done. A good negotiator must therefore try to increase the other party’s desire while decreasing his apparent desire to get along, which requires a plan B. This is why, when two parties are about to negotiate, they usually let it slip that they expect a lot, won’t give in and have other remedies.
But don’t get stuck in your positions, and make sure there are ways out.
Some negotiators therefore say that they always try to lower the expectations of their interlocutor, and that they are always reluctant even when one of their demands is met.
Negotiation is an extension of sales
There are many definitions of the term, some believing it to be an integral part of the sale, others that the sale is, on the contrary, part of an overall process of exchange.
In fact, the sale creates the desire for exchange, while the negotiation defines the terms of this exchange, so the negotiation comes after the sale. We could even say that if the sale is fairly well made, there’s no need to negotiate at all, since the other party will “buy” all the proposals we make. Conversely, if the sale isn’t well made and the other party’s desire is weak, negotiation will be all the more difficult.
You’re probably going to say to yourself that there isn’t always a sale in a negotiation, and you’re not wrong. Of course, there’s not always a process of persuasion in a non-commercial negotiation, but when the stakes are high enough to represent a desire for both parties, the sale is already implicitly made.
Win-win negotiation: seven basic techniques
There are several negotiation techniques, and here are just a few of them:
- The gambit is one of the most widely used, and consists, as in chess, of sacrificing a minor piece to improve strategic positioning.
- Start from the top and take it as a given or a basic demand. Then let go in bits and pieces and, for each concession, negotiate a quid pro quo.
- The red-herring technique, which consists in drawing your interlocutor’s attention to an absolutely irrelevant point to distract him or her from the essential issues at stake.
- The counter-offer consists in refusing a counter-offer and asking for more: you are asked to lower your price and you reply that it is already lower than necessary and that you can raise it.
- You say you’ve been offered something better elsewhere. Be careful, though, because the other party may very well retort: “So why are you negotiating with me, take the other offer if it’s more advantageous for you”.
- The technique of the good guy and the bad guy: one attacks, the other comes back softly and ends up getting more than the bad guy.
- A bluff in which one side uses false arguments to justify its points, in the belief that the other side will “buy” these arguments.
Should you always negotiate?
Negotiation is preferable to conflict, but it can also create animosity. The question to ask yourself is what is your primary objective: to make a gain from a concession obtained in the short term at the expense of your relationship with your counterpart in the long term, or the opposite.
If, like a carpet merchant, you don’t see your counterpart again, you can negotiate as much as you can, but this is not always the case.
It is estimated that there are 3 types of transactions:
- Win-win: all parties benefit from the transaction.
- Win-lose: one party wants to win more than the other
- Lose-lose: both parties try to hurt the other by going against their own interests.
In conclusion
There are two basic rules to remember before you start negotiating:
- a bad agreement is better than a good trial, as my law professor said in his first class!
- A good agreement that the parties want to respect is one in which the various parties see their own interests.
- Negotiation is also problem-solving, and every problem has its solution.
In any case, it’s a good idea to be familiar with these techniques, so as to detect apprentice negotiators who try their hand at the most off-the-wall techniques, which are more likely to undermine their credibility than anything else.
Jean-Pierre Mercier
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