In recent issues, we’ve been through several thought processes dealing with negotiation. In this issue, let’s summarize and put it all together.  The following deals with one-on-one negotiation, which is the most common scenario.  It might be a negotiation between a manager and an employee, between a salesperson and a potential customer, or between department heads. 

It does not deal with big picture strategies, behind the scenes dealing, multiple parties, etc.  Those will be dealt with in future issues. 

There are 4 ability levels of one-on-one negotiation expertise: the Basic, the Intermediate, the Advanced, and the Master.  Let’s look at each. 

Basic Level

The basic negotiator knows the specifics of what they’d like to accomplish. 

• If they want a budget increase, they can discuss the amount of money they need, what it will be used for, and when they need it. 
• If they’d like to add a staff member, they can discuss qualities needed as well as salary, and office space. 
• If they’re in sales, they can accurately discuss the commodities and services offered by their organization.   

Intermediate Level

The intermediate negotiator shows an increase in skill as they Position their point of view.  They’re good at expressing why their recommendation for a budget increase, adding a staff member or to purchase a particular item should take precedence over other options on the table.  

Another way to say that is, they can make their point of view – their recommendations, more important to the other person with whom they are negotiating. They do that by expressing why their agenda is a better choice than other alternatives.  They are comfortable with and handle these questions well as they are asked of them:

          Why you? 

Why should your recommendation for an increased budget or an additional staff  member or to purchase a particular item take precedence over other needs on the  table?

          What separates you in the marketplace? 

Advanced Level

The advanced negotiator can articulate not only the positioning factors (what separates their offering from other courses of actions) but can also articulate the pay-off of each of them as they relate to the other person.  They can get across the “so what” of each positioning point, enabling a boss, co-worker or customer to see exactly how each positioning factor will directly benefit their business/life.  This personalizes the negotiation.  It gives it added power.  It converts what you want from an academic request to a conversation that has meaning to the other person.  Salespeople have referred to this as explaining “benefits.”

Master Level

The master level negotiator knows that, contrary to popular opinion, people are easily manipulated.  They understand the emotions that drive people, and have the ability to sense which are present in another individual. 

Master negotiators can select the payoffs they discuss based on the drivers of the other party.  This is a high degree of execution, attained by few.  It involves knowing or sensing the other party to a degree that you can accurately determine what and where their buttons (values) are and use that knowledge to select the precise payoffs that will move that individual to another point of view.

As you can see, this is no small feat.  That’s why so few do it well and why so many negotiations end without satisfactory results.

For a refresher, view:  http://www.negotiationresources.com/articles/stock-trade.html