Why does one businessperson become an industry leader while the competition languishes as bottom-feeders? Is it the amount of capital they have invested? Is it related to educational background or negotiation training?

It may be any of these aspects, but one thing is for sure. Businesspeople who suck at negotiation will never enjoy the full fruits of their labor. Negotiation incorporates your business acumen, knowledge, and preparation to drive your business success. If you’re the kind of businessperson that goes for a win-win, how do you achieve success in your negotiations?

Bring Multiple Offers to the Table

One of the best ways to create value in negotiations is by rolling out multiple offers of equal value. Extending various proposals simultaneously gives the other party the ability to compare and contrast. NYC advanced negotiation training workshop prepares negotiators on best practices of proposing competitive offers.

By proposing various offers of equal value at the same time, you’re giving the client or supplier insight into how much value you can bring about, and what you need in exchange to make the deal a reality. Multiple offers demonstrate that you are accommodating the needs and preferences of the client. Multiple offers give the client the opportunity to select what they want from one proposal and to incorporate their choice into another to create a more valuable hybrid deal.

The client now views you as a person who is reasonable and flexible. You manifest yourself as the business leader who strives to achieve the best possible solution to resolve client challenges. Being an accommodating leader forms the best foundation for building strong and long-term business relationships.

Separate People from Positions

It’s common in negotiation training workshops to have individuals from both parties sticking to hard-line positions. Situations like this can quickly turn adversarial as individuals refuse to budge from their held positions and counter-positions.

The discussion ends up revolving around objections, demands, and threats of withdrawal. The negotiation meeting takes the shape of one side against another, where a winner and a loser will emerge. A business leader realizes that such an environment is counterproductive and debilitating.

A principled negotiation workshop approach can effectuate a much better resolution, as the focus of the negotiators is now no longer on their position but rather on the problem at hand. With a collective focus on the problematic issue, the meeting takes on the perspective of everyone sitting on the same side and working out alternative solutions to tackle the problem. Win-win negotiators follow the principle to be “hard on the problem, soft on the people.”

Avoid Confining Negotiations to One Issue

When focusing on one individual issue in your negotiating course, you risk setting yourself up for a win-lose situation. Negotiation deadlock is most common when the one item in contention is the price of a product or service.

Price is usually one of the most logical deal points debatable in a negotiation workshop. Yet, with focus on this one point in real life business settings, you miss out on other value-creation points. A win-win negotiator will instead bring up other value points such as support, training, delivery dates, packaging, warranties, upgrades, and financing options.

Introduce Independent Standards

Independent standards are the businessperson’s forward of creating a common grounds with the client. Independent standards represent objective criteria that the businessperson can use to measure the value of the proposed deal and align the offer with the client’s interests.

A good example is when you as owner of an office building negotiate a lease with a business tenant. You may indicate real estate market rates from a respected local independent body to serve as a guideline on what both parties should expect out of the deal. Other independent standards that may apply in different scenarios include independent credible research, third-party references, and industry benchmarks.

Conclusion

Win-win negotiations are all about value creation with intent to create a mutually beneficial agreement. As a top or emerging business leader, build strong relationships and enhance your reputation by striving for mutual benefit in all your deals.

Bringing multiple offers to the table gives your client options while demonstrating your ability to accommodate their preferences. Focus on the problem rather than on individual positions sets you up as a team rather than opposing sides. Independent standards form a basis on which to demonstrate value. Above all, seek to collaborate with your buyers and suppliers rather than winning deals at their expense.

SOURCE: https://www.negotiations.com/