The Accidental Negotiator

I think that we all realize that participating in a negotiation can be a  very complex undertaking.  However, if you want to make things even more  complicated then all you have to do is involve yourself in a multiparty negotiation. Multiparty negotiations are actually fairly common. There are three issues that make  multi­party negotiations more complex than two-party talks. These issues  are (1) coalition formation, (2) process-management issues, and (3) the  fluctuating nature of each party’s best alternative to a negotiated  agreement (BATNA).  As a negotiator, if you are able to prepare for these differences in negotiating strategy, you will be well positioned to thrive in your next multiparty negotiation. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

When it comes time for your next negotiation, will you do the most  important thing to get ready?  You know what I’m talking about – prepare!  One of the biggest mistakes that negotiators make over and over again  doesn’t have anything to do with their negotiation styles or negotiating  techniques, instead it has to do with failing to thoroughly prepare. If  you haven’t done the necessary analysis and research, then you are  highly likely to leave value on the table and even to be taken advantage  of by the other side. What you need is a negotiation preparation  checklist that can help you avoid this scenario by helping you think  through your position, the other party’s position, and what might happen  when you get together.  Here’s a starting point that you can use to  develop your own checklist... --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

As negotiators we’ve all heard about the power of being able to reach a win-win agreement with the other side of the table.   This is not always an easy thing to do. It may be our ultimate goal,  but more often than not how to reach that goal can prove to be elusive.   However, the good news is that there are a number of different  negotiation styles and negotiating techniques that we can use in order  to create situations in which both sides in a negotiation can reach a win-win agreement. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

As negotiators we understand that in order to get what we want out of a  principled negotiation no matter what negotiation styles or negotiating  techniques we are using we are going to have to make concessions to the other side.  What we need to understand is how best to make concessions in order to allow us to get the deal that we are working towards in our next negotiation. Making strategic concessions at the right time can be an effective tactic in a negotiation.  Here are  four ways to make your concessions work to your best advantage in your  next negotiation. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

Every negotiator knows that they can only be as good as the team that they have backing them up.  In order to have the best team possible, we  need to find ways to increase the odds that our team has the training  and the skills that will be required in order use their negotiation  styles and negotiating techniques to make our next negotiation  successful.  This all leads to the question: what skills do our negotiating teams need to have? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

As negotiators, we all share the same desire – we’d like to find ways to become better negotiators.   However, the prospect of finding a way to make this happen and learn  new negotiation styles and negotiating techniques can be very  overwhelming and this can cause us to throw our arms up and say that it  simply can’t be done.  The good news is that there are a set of manageable strategies that we can all use in order to become better than we are today. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

As negotiators, when we are trying to sell something the one thing that we all want to do is to avoid falling into any traps during our next negotiation.   However, the problem that we all face is that no matter what  negotiation styles or negotiating techniques  we are using, traps can be  difficult to spot and even harder to avoid.  If we can learn what they  look like and how we can avoid them, then we can boost our chances of  being able to reach the deal that we want with the other side. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

Let’s face it – a negotiation is tough work.  However, if you want to  make things just a little bit more difficult, then you can throw in some  conflicts along the way and now you really have your work cut out for  you. Negotiators can define conflict resolution as the informal or  formal process that two or more parties use to find a peaceful solution  to their dispute. These things have to be worked out using our  negotiation styles and negotiating techniques if you want the  negotiation to continue towards a deal. A number of common cognitive and  emotional traps, many of them unconscious, can exacerbate conflict and  contribute to the need for conflict resolution.  How can a negotiator work though conflicts when they arise? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

There are many different types of negotiations that we can engage in.   However, one of the most difficult is when we are called on to use our  negotiation styles and negotiating techniques to negotiate a conflict.  In these situations we are going to be dealing with parties that may be  very emotional and they may not be open to using logic and reason to  find a way to resolve the issues that are being discussed. When this  happens, we are going to have to find ways to maintain both our power  and our status in order to keep the negotiations moving in the correct  direction.  Our goal has to be to encourage the parties that are involved  to cooperate with each other instead of competing with each other. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

As negotiators, we all believe that when we reach the end of a  negotiation and have a deal that both sides can agree to, the deal is  done.  This is the time that we start to pack up our negotiation styles  and negotiating techniques and move on to our next negotiation. However,  there will be those times that things don’t turn out the way that we thought that they would. What can happen is that once the deal is done, there is always the possibility that the other side will demand a renegotiation of the deal. This can both surprise and anger you – why did they agree to deal if they now want to renegotiate it?  When this happens, you need to keep your anger under control and follow  the following guidelines on how to proceed with re-negotiating with the  other side. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

We all know that it is tough to do a good job of negotiating a deal.  In fact, many people dread negotiation, not recognizing that they negotiate on a regular, even daily basis.  Most of us face formal negotiations throughout our personal and  professional lives in many different forms during which we all use many  different forms of negotiation styles and negotiating techniques:  bargaining over the price of a new car, discussing the terms of a new  job offer, or hammering out a contract with a supplier. What do these negotiations have in common, and what tools should we use  to get what we need out of our everyday negotiations? In the end, these  are the questions that every negotiator needs to find answers to. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

So during a negotiation, when you know the other side is wrong in how  they are viewing the world, what do you do?  If you are like most of us,  you probably have a tendency to try to use your negotiation styles and  negotiating techniques to correct the other side’s perceptions. You may  lecture them about why you’re right—and they’re wrong. The problem with  doing this is that we know that this conflict resolution approach usually fails to resolve the conflict and often will only makes it worse.  What we really need are some  conflict resolution strategies that can help us to get out of situations  like this. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

Let’s face it, by now you realize that not every negotiation is the  same.  Each and every negotiation that we engage in has its own set of  characteristics and qualities that set it apart from all of the other  negotiations that we’ve been part of. However, the good news here is  that all of the negotiations that we participate in fall into one of several different categories of negotiations.  In order to make sure that we’re able to get the best deal possible out  of a negotiation, we need to make sure that we understand what type of  negotiation we are preparing to enter into.  Make sure that you  understand what type of negotiation your next negotiation is. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

The reason that a negotiation is necessary is because the other side has information that we don’t have. Likewise, we know things that the other side does not know and the purpose of a negotiation is to use your negotiation styles and negotiating techniques to exchange enough information so that both sides can agree on a deal. Now this is where things start to get interesting. Just exactly how much information should we share with the other side?  Do we tell them everything and hope to be rewarded for being so open with them? Do we hide everything so that we don’t accidentally reveal too much? This is a key question that every negotiator has to answer for themselves: during a negotiation what information do we need to keep secret? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

So I’m willing to admit it – I like food. A lot.  When we are getting  ready to negotiate with someone, there is always the possibility of  conducting our negotiations with all of their negotiation styles and  negotiating techniques while sharing a meal with them. As tasty as this  may seem, it does lead to a much bigger question. If we conduct our  negotiations while eating, can it boost the possibility of our ability  to reach a deal with the other side?   It turns out that there are both  advantages and downsides to eating while negotiating. Let’s take a look  at both of them. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

Ah, the good cop / bad cop tactic.   You know, we’ve seen this used in so many different TV shows and movies  that you would sorta think that everyone would recognize it when it was  being used on them by now. However, that’s where you would be wrong. It  turns out that this tactic is still very popular as one of many  negotiation styles and negotiating techniques and is very effective.  During any negotiation that you are part of, the other side may have  two of their people playing different roles. One seems as though they  are eager to help you while the other is aggressively trying to get the  best deal for them.  Guess what – the good cop / bad cop tactic is being  used on you. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

Every time that we start a negotiation, we begin with the best of  intentions.  It really does not matter who we are negotiating with. The  other side can be from down the road or from around the world, we simply  want to reach a good deal with them. However, when the other side comes from another culture, problems can arise in our negotiations. Even with a common language and the best of intentions, negotiators from different cultures face unique challenges no matter what negotiation styles or negotiating techniques are being  used.  What we need are solutions for avoiding intercultural barriers  when preparing for negotiation between sides from different cultures. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

As negotiators, every time that we enter into a negotiation we hope to  be able to use our negotiation styles and negotiating techniques to walk  away with a deal that we can live with.  However, in order for that to  happen we have to have taken the time to prepare for the negotiation.  All too often this is exactly what we don’t do. When you haven’t done  the necessary research, you are likely to leave value on the table and  even to be taken advantage of by the other side. What you need is a  negotiation preparation checklist that can help you avoid this scenario  by helping you think through your position, the other side’s position,  and what might happen when you get together. We do need to understand  that business negotiations are highly unpredictable. It is possible that  some of your prep work won’t turn out to be relevant, and new issues  and problems will crop up and demand your attention.  However, having a  solid understanding of what’s at stake and where each side is coming  from will help you do a better job of thinking on your feet. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

So how many times has this happened to you?  You are involved in a  negotiation. Everything seems to be going pretty well – your negotiation  styles and negotiating techniques seem to be working. A deal is  starting to form up and both sides are starting to see what they may be  able to walk away from this deal with when all of sudden something changes.  A spoiler enters into the negotiation. Once this happens, something  almost magical happens (in a bad way) and the deal that had looked so  close jumps out the window and runs away never to be seen again.  Clearly  a deal spoiler is not something that any of us want to invite to a  negotiation; however, what can we do to prevent it from showing up  unannounced? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support

There are times when something is being negotiated that we choose to not  go it alone. Instead, we decide that we need some help.  When this  happens we may bring in an agent to represent us to the other side .  However, this can cause problems. If you do this, you wonder whether  you can trust the agent to fully represent your best interests no matter  what negotiation styles or negotiating techniques are being used.  The  bad news is that according to principal agent theory, the answer often is “no.” --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jim-anderson52/support