negotiating

The idea of negotiating scares a lot of people. When you think about it, you’ve been negotiating at some level throughout your entire life. As a child, you probably negotiated for a later bedtime, more dessert, or a trip to the park. As you grew up, you learned the give and take of a proper negotiation. You still engage in negotiation all the time when you want your way but also have to give into someone else’s way. A workplace negotiation is no different.

I recently observed the most painful contract negotiation process of my professional life. Every step taken in this example was a step taken from the hypothetical book “How to do everything you can to not win a negotiation.” The lessons I have learned from this recent experience serve to enlighten this post.

A good negotiation takes empathy for the other party with a strong understanding of your own must-haves. You also have to understand your BATNA – best alternative to a negotiated agreement.

From my most recent workplace experience, every step taken was a misstep from the parties involved.

Here is a list of things NOT to do in a negotiation:

–          sense of needing to win

–          false bluffing, ultimatums and exaggeration

–          using accusatory and personal language

–          misunderstanding of timing

–          not understanding the best alternative 

Here is a list of things to keep in mind during a negotiation:

Empathize and find common ground: Depending on what is at stake, you’re likely not going to achieve a win-win. You need to empathize with the other party to understand their needs. If you don’t know the other party, get to know them before beginning negotiations. Allow them to explain their business operations. This information will help you quickly find common ground, identify small wins, and gain mutual respect early in the process.

Be professional and factual: Negotiations will get heated but it is important to remain honest and unemotional. You should not be lying or hurting relationships during this process. Mutual respect is an important foundation in any workplace interaction, but especially important here. If relationships are so strained that you truly cannot respect the other party, you still need to remain professional by sticking to the facts. This approach will serve you better in the outcome of this process.

Know your own business: You must fully understand your own business position in this negotiation.

This not only includes the points in the negotiation itself such as requirements, cost, deliverables, services, but also your business needs in terms of timing and alternatives.

Note if the market or your business is related to the timing of this decision. If you take too long and run up against a deadline, you’ll be forced to concede where you didn’t want to. You also don’t want to rush the process by conceding early to avoid conflict.

Define your BATNA before these negotiations even begin. This defines your leverage if you know conclusively where you can afford to give and take.

What happened to my own workplace contract negotiation story?

When I was allowed to take over and employ these tactics, progress started to be made immediately after 8 months of a stagnant conversation under the former manager of this process. The larger group still occasionally regressed to the old ways, and due to the time wasted, our business did suffer. However, a fair negotiation was reached with a strong lesson learned outcome.