The Art of Negotiating starts by looking at your self as a TRUE intermediary. The MIDDLE man. One who can take several different sides of a situation, merge them into one situation, have a happy ending and do it SUCCESSFULLY. This is very true in any Industry, but is especially true in the Transportation Industry. Negotiations take place here at a very fast pace and leave no room for error.
Negotiating is the process of arriving at a satisfactory conclusion for all parties involved.
Effective Negotiating is the approach, technique and structure used to accomplish such satisfaction.
You MUST have Good Quality Negotiating Skills in order to do this.
In negotiating, you must first learn to LISTEN. LISTENING is your key to SUCCESS in EVERY negotiation. Listen to what is BEING said and what is NOT being said. There are those who know WHAT they want to say but don’t know HOW to say it. And there are those who know what they WANT, but not the STEPS needed to obtain it. So, LISTEN to what is being said by all those involved. Let someone else start the negotiation process. This way you are free to take note of what is already being agreed upon and can start putting your negotiation plan together. Structure your notes, ideas and plan into a type of outline. From what seems to be the most important factor down to the least important. This way you will have a clear and direct route of WHEN you want to begin the final negotiation, WHICH direction you will want to take it, and HOW you plan to succeed at the end.
Finally, draw attention to your negotiating abilities by being confident. Talk clearly and be direct. Highlight the objective then go straight to the point. This will leave less room for those involved to change their minds and no one will be confused. Speak with professionalism. State your solutions but with a hint of suggestion. This will help keep everyone focused and leave less room for hostility. By allowing OPINIONS to form, and IDEAS to follow, you can fill in the blanks and end the negotiation with the results you had originally intended. Hereby skillfully and professionally demonstrating the Art of Negotiating.
Brought to you by A1 Freight Broker Training
1 comment:
Good post, summarizing the necessity of good listening skills and an open mind in negotiations.
The only item I'd disagree with is "Let someone else start the negotiation process. This way you are free to take note of what is already being agreed upon and can start putting your negotiation plan together." Here's why:
#1: In my experience, 80% (or more) of negotiators wait and see what the other will do before acting or deciding their strategy. This gives the other side a lot of control and also puts us into a reactive mode. Rather, I'd recommend building successful and productive collaborative negotiation skills and using those skills to kick the negotiation off on a good foot. That way, you set the tone since, most likely, they're taking a "wait and see" approach as well (which puts you both in an awkward position).
#2: If they start off in an aggressive or otherwise unproductive manner, we often "fight back" because "he started it." Don't allow yourself to be put in a defensive position, knocking you off balance. People who are pushed tend to push back, regardless of whether it's productive or not.
#3: If you wait until the formal negotiation has "begun" to plan your strategy, it's too late. Negotiation planning and preparation is something that should take place well before the parties sit down at the table. It takes thought, research, gathering of resources, etc. and then organization of that information. This must occur well in advance of the negotiation itself.
In summary, the most effective negotiators set the tone in negotiations, driving the process towards mutual benefit and collaboration. This happens through proper skill building, planning and strategizing, not taking a more passive approach, responding to what they start off with.
I'm happy to discuss more. Good luck with your negotiations!
Stephen Frenkel
Director of Negotiation Programs, MWI
sfrenkel@mwi.org
www.mwi.org/negotiation
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