Negotiating for a Win-Win
FountainBlue's August 31 Front Line Managers Online program was on the topic of 'Negotiating for a Win-Win'. Please join me in thanking our panelists.
as an Operations Leader - Bhavya Vaidya, Lam Research
as a Marketing Leader - Matthew Robinson, Contentsquare
Our esteemed panelists had a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. They are masterful chess-players who focus on both delivering bottom line results while also building relationships, networks and ecosystems of contacts.
Below is a compilation of thoughts and strategies they shared on how to better negotiate.
Be Respectful
Consistently communicate with patience and respect, especially when emotions run high.
Accept that it's not always easy to negotiate, but it's always a part of work/job/life, so find a way to respectfully remain engage through negotiations.
Be Mindful
Know yourself, your abilities, needs and interests.
Manage your emotions and your triggers, remaining centered, positive and professional.
Be Strategic
Start with the end in mind and work backwards from there.
Factor in short-term and long-term objectives.
Consider the timing and the battleground.
Remain centered on and mindful of the overarching goals.
Communicate Transparently and Clearly
Communicate with authenticity and transparency.
Clearly spell out implicit and explicit needs.
'Peel the onion' to better understand the root cause for a stated position.
Package how you communicate your offering/position.
Confirm that everyone is on the same page.
Continue ongoing communications throughout the negotiating process.
Leverage the Network/Work the Relationship
Develop and grow relationships of trust, for that is foundational for successful negotiations.
Escalate up the chain to someone with the authority to respond and support a negotiated position.
Use your political capital wisely.
Identify and work with the 'king-makers'.
Balance the giving and the taking, ensuring that the relationships are valued, as they are more important than any one negotiation.
Build relationships, networks and ecosystems before you have an urgent need.
Be Other-Focused
Understand the perspective and motivations of all parties involved.
Keep peeling the onion to identify the root cause of a stated position.
Speak to the Data
Define what success looks like based on specific metrics.
Leverage the data to make the case for your position.
Include data throughout the negotiations for 'without the data, it's just another opinion'.
Other
Consider consulting a neutral party if both sides are entrenched.
Be open-minded about other approaches/out-of-the-box ideas for reaching a win-win agreement.
Bundle what you're negotiating.
Offer a 'sacrificial lamb'.
The bottom line is that negotiating is a part of life, and strategically planning and executing on a negotiation will ideally create win-win scenarios for all parties involved.