The Essentials of Effective Negotiation

The Essentials of Effective Negotiation

INTRODUCTION TO NEGOTIATION
• What is negotiation?
• When is it appropriate to negotiate?
• Assessing your needs and their importance
• Assessing the needs and their importance of the other party
• The 5 possible negotiation positions from ‘lose/lose’ through to ‘win/win’
GROUP EXERCISE: Discussing the pros and cons of the above

IDENTIFYING YOUR PERSONAL NEGOTIATION STYLE AND THAT OF OTHERS
The dynamics of the negotiation process and the 5 key behavioural strategies that can take place.
• Personal profile audit – a 30-point questionnaire
– identify your preferred negotiation style
– learn how to assess when it will be appropriate to apply the other styles.
• Dealing with Conflict and difficult People
– understanding the conflict management matrix
• When to use the 5 behavioural styles during a negotiation
• What are the pros and cons of each style
PRACTICAL EXERCISE: Personal Negotiation Style Audit

UNIQUE SEVEN STAGE MODEL FOR SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION
The essential ‘P.E.S.P.A.K.E.’ Negotiation Model

1. PREPARATION AND PROFILING: THE 2 KEY ELEMENTS OF PRE-NEGOTIATION
Preparation:
• Timing of the negotiation
• Perception of power
• Developing an effective negotiation strategy
• Identifying your ‘top end’ and ‘bottom line’ parameters – your ‘minimax’ criteria
Profiling the other party:
• Their business needs – current and future
• The people involved – SWOT Analysis
• The individual: knowledge, skills, behaviour style, decision maker or influence
PRACTICAL EXERCISE: Preparation and profiling the other party

2. ENVIRONMENT & ATMOSPHERE
Where the negotiation takes place (environment) and the type of atmosphere we want to create.
• The pros and cons of the environment
• ‘home’, ‘away’ or ‘neutral territory’
• the dos and don’ts
• Creating the right atmosphere to enable us to build rapport and set the scene for a productive outcome
PRACTICAL EXERCISE: What factors should we consider?

3. SHOPPING LIST & AGENDA
The crucial stage of setting and agreeing the agenda – the ‘shopping list’ to be negotiated.
• Key techniques to ensure that we understand the other party’s needs
• Dealing professionally with ‘early demands’ from the other party
• Skilful ways of identifying any ‘hidden agendas’ that the other party may have
• The importance of using control skills, for example, summarising, to agree mutual goals and avoid misunderstandings
PRACTICAL EXERCISE: Pairs practice

4. PROPOSE & TRADE
Moving into the act of negotiation – the main body.
• The language of negotiation – the dos and don’ts
• Using the language of the expert negotiators - ‘conditional language’
• The impact of negative language
• Interpreting the other party’s statements – ‘the meaning behind the words’
• How to start the ‘trading’ process
• The art of trading concessions and following the golden rule – ‘Never give – always trade’
• How to receive proposals from the other party
• How to state your position using the 4 stage ‘A.S.P.A.’ Model
• Dealing with difficult requests in a controlled manner
• How to say ‘NO’ without appearing negative
PRACTICAL EXERCISE: Pairs and group practice

5. AGREE, SUMMARISE & CLOSE
The process of moving from trading to the final agreement stage.
• Dealing with outstanding issues and how they can be resolved
• Summarising agreements and obtaining commitment to proceed
• Using the ‘backtrack’ technique to avoid making assumptions and deadlock
• The importance of note taking and recording of agreements
• Closing techniques to enable the negotiation to move forward
PRACTICAL EXERCISE: Pairs and group practice

6. KEEPING TO COMMITMENTS, MAKING SURE IT ALL HAPPENS
Moving from negotiation to realisation
• Establishing what has to happen to ensure that all agreements are actioned
• Addressing the ‘Plan B’ effect: The ‘What if happens’ scenario – avoiding the common pitfalls
• Considering the implications of legal, contractual and ‘small print’ items
PRACTICAL EXERCISE: Addressing the above issues and their effects on the negotiation

7. EVALUATION & REVIEW
The importance of the post negotiation evaluation.
• What did I/we learn from the negotiation?
• How well did we perform?
• How well did the other party negotiate?
• How can we use the experience to develop our skills?
PRACTICAL EXERCISE: Personal evaluation

GETTING TO GRIPS WITH THE POWER OF BODY LANGUAGE
How body talk can have a profound effect the negotiation process
• How body language communicates more than you think
• Reading the body language of others
• Understanding and developing your own body language
• The keys to using non-verbal communication to understand and
influence others during negotiation
PRACTICAL EXERCISE: Body Language Observation

THE ART OF TEAM NEGOTIATIONS
• Difference between 1 to 1 negotiation and team negotiations
• Individual roles within the team
• Ensuring each team member has the essential negotiating attributes
• How to use the individual attributes to your advantage
• Strategies, techniques and tactics within the team negotiation process
PRACTICAL EXERCISE:
Using the ‘checklist’ to select your ideal team

HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY OVERCOME NEGOTIATION PLOYS
Understanding the ploys used by the expert negotiators to give them the‘upper hand’.
• Identify the common professional ‘ploys’
• How to pre-empt them and build them into your strategy
• How to deal with them effectively
• How to ensure they do not affect the outcome
PRACTICAL EXERCISE: Practising dealing with ploys

ACTION PLAN: Develop a personal action plan to use when you go back to the workplace