Your Negotiation Challenges

Negotiation is one of the most difficult jobs a person can do. It requires a combination of diverse traits and skills. The process of negotiating demands good business judgment and a keen understanding of human nature. There is no other area in business where the alchemy of power, persuasion, economics, motivation, and organizational pressures come together in so concentrated a fashion and so narrow a time frame. But – nowhere is the return on investment potential so high!

Today economic pressures around the world are causing organizations to put more pressure on their negotiators. In other words—you!

Buyers and supply management professionals are being asked to cut costs and increase efficiencies. Sellers and marketing professionals are being asked to increase volumes and increase margins. Engineering, system analysts, IT professionals, manufacturing managers, and HR managers are being asked to do more with less. There is a lot of negotiating going on!

Graduates of the Karrass Effective Negotiating seminar have a distinct advantage over any untrained negotiator. If, in your negotiations, you happen to encounter another Karrass trained negotiator – great! Both of you are now in an ideal position to create real value using the “Both-Win” negotiating techniques you learned at the seminar.

Here are some of the key attributes good negotiators exhibit:

1. An ability to negotiate effectively with members of their own organization and win their confidence.
2. A willingness and commitment to plan carefully; know the product/project, the rules and the alternatives; and the courage to probe and verify information.
3. Good business judgment; an ability to discern the real bottom-line issues.
4. The ability to tolerate conflict and ambiguity—it comes with the negotiating process.
5. The courage to commit oneself to higher targets and to take the risks that go along with it.
6. The wisdom to be patient—to wait for the story to unfold.
7. A willingness to get involved with the other party and their organization— to understand all the various personal and business issues.
8. A commitment to integrity and mutual satisfaction.
9. An ability to listen with an open-mind.
10. The insight to view the negotiation from a personal standpoint—discover the hidden personal issues that could affect the outcome.
11. Self-confidence based on your knowledge and your planning.
12. A willingness to use experts and an understanding of how a team might be valuable in the negotiation.
13. A stable person; one who has learned to negotiate with oneself and to laugh a little; one who doesn’t have too strong a need to be liked so they can feel free to disagree when the need arises.

Research shows us that skilled negotiators create better agreements. But we are not born with these skills, it takes training, practice and persistence. Use what you learned at the Karrass Effective Negotiating Seminar. Be confident in your ability to negotiate. You have the tools and skills to create good, long-lasting agreements that will satisfy all parties.

INTEGRITY

A negotiation is more than a discussion of issues or a signed agreement. It is an unwritten judgment on the quality and character of the participants. In reaching that judgment, integrity is the key element. Integrity makes the deal work. There is no substitute for it.

The absence in integrity cannot be offset by intelligence, competence, or tight legal documents. Without integrity, no deal, however carefully written, is worth much. Built into the transaction must be a high sense of values, the generosity to resolve subsequent difficulties equitably, and a commitment to meet the intent of the agreement. Integrity is always a big part of the price. Wherever it is lacking, you’ll find yourself shortchanged.

Establishing Your Viewpoint

An exchange of viewpoints can be a very tough negotiation. Ideas are like possessions; people don’t want to part with them. Here are eight things to consider whenever you are persuading someone to accept your viewpoint:


1. Talk less, listen more. The other person wants to be heard. When you let the other person talk, you can gain many insights into their viewpoint. Chances are the other person will reciprocate and be more attentive when you speak.

2. Don’t interrupt. Interruptions make people angry and block communication.

3. Don’t be belligerent. When you feel strongly about something, it is more difficult to be soft spoken than harsh. But a soft-spoken person encourages the same treatment from others. An argumentative attitude has little success in changing opinions.

4. Don’t hurry to bring up your own points. As a rule it’s best to hear the other person’s full viewpoint before expressing your own.

5. Restate the other person’s position and objectives as soon as you understand them. People like to know they’ve been heard and understood. This is an inexpensive concession for you to make; it forces you to listen better; and helps you to phrase your points in the other person’s terms.

6. Identify the key issue and stick to it. Cover one point at a time and avoid trying to overwhelm with arguments.

7. Don’t digress and try to keep the other person from digressing. Three ways: temporarily agree on nonessential points, agree to discuss some issues later, treat some issues as not being relevant.

8. You will find it works better to be “for a point of view,” not against one.


When you try to convince another to accept your viewpoint, realize that their acceptance may take some time. Give the other person time to get used to your ideas rather than attempting to force them to make a quick decision. People need time to assimilate anything new or different.

You are asking the other person to exchange your new ideas for their old. It’s just like you are asking them to discard their old friends. Right or wrong, they have grown accustomed and committed to their viewpoints; and it is logical that they will be more receptive to your viewpoint if you simply give them time to adjust.