Reading: Frequently asked tactical questions

Frequently asked tactical questions

The chapter focus on the questions and answers that you can have during the various types of negotiation. There are organized in 3 categories concerning the price, the procedures and the people.

First of all, the price is one of the fundamental element in a negotiation, this is why it need to be clearly define at the beginning. According to the article, you should never reveal your acceptable range, otherwise, the other side can interpret your reservation price. You only could mention it at the end of the negotiating process to discourage the other side. However, you can tell your bottom line if you have reached it. Sometimes, the other party can offer you a proposal with a very unreasonable price. To counter its offer, you have various possibilities: you can make a joke to explain that this price it not realistic, you can also explain clearly that this number is entirely out of your range and that you can’t make a deal with this figure. In this situation, it’s better to talk about the interests and describe the value of the situation.

Then, as negotiation is a difficult process, some people wonder how to make the best deal respecting the rules of a fair method of negotiation. For instance, making two moves in a row, meaning bid against yourself, is not a good idea. It’s better to make your next offer to a reasonable number. If you can’t justify it you will enter an impasse. To improve their persuasion power, some party are ready to bluff or lie during a negotiation. Lying is not accepted in a deal because it’s not fair and can be considered as illegal. You are not allowed to bluff or puff but you can just not reveal all the circumstances of a situation or describe in more positive terms some actions. You can choose which information you want to tell but without adding any modifications. If you identify that the other side is lying, you can ask him if he really understand the terms and the conditions of the deal because they are based on accuracy and truthful representation of the situation. In a complex deal, it is better to reach agreement issue by issue, which allow you more flexibility and possibility to create value and find other alternatives. In order to establish a comfortable environment for the deal it is advised to start with easy issues to help the party become more familiar and deepen their commitments to the process. Moreover, some external factors can impact the negotiation process and unexpected developments can affect potential agreements. For this, it is necessary to analyse how these unexpected factors can influence the final decision and try to go forward the negotiation again.

Finally, there can be inequalities in the negotiation process and negotiators will have to face people problems. For instance, if you pit a collaborative negotiator against a stronger position this means you are aimed to win at the other side expense. In that case, the negotiator should stop the other side. If the other party is cooperative, it will offer another option which is going to reach both parties’ interests.  Sometimes, one side can change its positions after that a deal has been reached. Obviously, it will affect the final decision and put him in a weaker position. This can be an opportunity for the other side to renegotiated some aspects of the deal and reinforce its BATNA. In some negotiation process, people have difficulties to control their emotions and can be very aggressive making her/his partner feeling bad. For this, you can try to calm down the situation on a polite way to make him stop quickly this negative behaviour, damaging for a good agreement.

To conclude, negotiation can be exercises on various ways: over the telephone, by email or in face to face meeting. The best is the face to face meeting because it allows you to pick up the nonverbal signs of the other side, determine if he is lying and correct bad impressions. Attitude always tells more than words. Negotiate by emails or by messages often result in disputes and impasses and a message can be misinterpreted by the receptor. However, as an email is devoid of emotions, it can be a great advantage for inexperienced negotiator. You have also a better control of the information you are given. Using the phone permit to interpret tone of voice.

This chapter is ending by 5 appendices to help people prepare for and engage in negotiation. They are concerning the preparation of the negotiation, the identification and improvement of the BATNA, the determination of the walk away price and the variables which determine it, the knowledge you have of the other side and the level of authority of both parties.