The following is an extract from our training manual for our soft skills course on Negotiating Skills. This is one of over 50 soft skills training workshops available at our London offices, or your site UK wide and international. We can create tailored and bespoke training programmes for you and your team.

Negotiation Skills:

Workshop Objectives

Understand the basic types of negotiations, the phases of negotiations, and the skills needed for successful negotiating

Understand and apply basic negotiating concepts: WATNA, BATNA, WAP, and ZOPA

Lay the groundwork for negotiation

Identify what information to share and what to keep to yourself

Understand basic bargaining techniques

Apply strategies for identifying mutual gain

Understand how to reach consensus and set the terms of agreement

Deal with personal attacks and other difficult issues

Use the negotiating process to solve everyday problems

Negotiate on behalf of someone else

Understanding Negotiations

Integrative Negotiations

Integrative negotiations are based on cooperation. Both parties believe they can walk away with something they want without giving up something important. The dominant approach in integrative negotiations is problem solving.

Integrative negotiations involve:

         ·            Multiple issues. This allows each party to make concessions on less important issues in return for concessions from the other party on more important issues.

         ·            Information sharing. This is an essential part of problem solving.

         ·            Bridge building. The success of integrative negotiations depends on a spirit of trust and cooperation.

Distributive Negotiations

Distributive negotiations involve a fixed pie. There is only so much to go around and each party wants as big a slice as possible. An example of a distributive negotiation is haggling over the price of a car with a car salesman. In this type of negotiation, the parties are less interested in forming a relationship or creating a positive impression. Distributive relationships involve:

         ·            Keeping information confidential. For example, you don’t want a car salesman to know how badly you need a new car or how much you are willing to pay.

         ·            Trying to extract information from the other party. In a negotiation, knowledge truly is power. The more you know about the other party’s situation, the stronger your bargaining position is.

         ·            Letting the other party make the first offer. It might be just what you were planning to offer yourself!

The Negotiation Process

Preparation

         ·            Identify your key commitments

Exchanging Information

         ·            Outline Your Opening Position

         ·            Decide whether this will be High Ball or Low Ball

         ·            Ensure that this position is realistic

         ·            Allow for movement within whatever opening position you adopt

         ·            Confirm all agreements reached and positions offered

Bargaining

         ·            Question for Information

         ·            Challenge other side for justifications of their position

         ·            Examine and Test their commitment

         ·            Present Your Key Commitments

         ·            Explore Key Commitments

         ·            Summarise Arguments and Seek Acceptance

         ·            Identify and Highlight Common Ground

         ·            Be Prepared to Concede

         ·            Begin with those of Low Priority and seek High Priority Items

         ·            Never Concede on More than possible by your Brief

         ·            Use your Concessions Wisely

Closing

         ·            Emphasise the benefits to both parties

         ·            Carefully introduce the consequences of not reaching agreement to both parties and losing what has been agreed so far

         ·            Timing is Essential

         ·            Take Care when making a Final Offer. Be sure that it is consistent with your brief.

         ·            A Small Traded Offer is often better. A small move by them in return for an extra movement by you.