Introduction

Have you ever been in a situation where your emotions influenced your decision, and later you realized that it wasn’t the conclusion you wanted?

Let’s deep dive and understand why Negotiation is an important skillset, needed by everyone which can help us prevent landing in the situation you thought of while reading the above question.

Negotiation is a skill needed by every one of us working in IT or non-IT, on a personal or professional front. There are several reasons why negotiation is important, some of the most critical ones are mentioned below:

1. Conflict Resolution
2. Achieving Desired Outcomes
3. Building and Maintaining Relationships
4. Improving Communication
5. Economic and Business Success
6. Personal Development
7. Adaptability and Flexibility
8. Strategic Planning and Implementation

Hence, we can say that Negotiation is defined as the art of reaching an agreement, by resolving differences through creativity.

People often confuse negotiation with bargaining. Let us understand how these two skills are different and benefit us at different ends.

Negotiation v/s Bargaining

Hence, bargaining benefits us monetarily, whereas Negotiation benefits us in a lot more areas apart from money, leaving both ends in a win-win situation.

Stages of Negotiation

Diving into the details of the Negotiation process. Below are the phases of Negotiation:

Negotiation Process

Following the negotiation process, one may face some obstacles, which are described below along with the Mantra to tackle the same.

Negotiation Obstacles and Mantras

Negotiation Obstacles and Mantras

Negotiation Styles

1. Collaborative (Diplomatic)
   • When to Use:
     • A primary style you should use for most goals in business-to-business negotiations
     • When you need to understand the feelings and deeper interests or motivations of all negotiators
2. Compromising (Henry Clay)
   • When to Use:
     • You are dealing with someone who you trust
     • you have nothing left to offer, and this is the only way to seal the deal
3. Competing (Dictator)
   • When to Use:
     • You are dealing with someone who you trust
     • you have nothin
4. Accomodating (Benjamin Franklin)
   • When to Use:
     • You or your company are at fault i.e you are in a weak position
     • To get a bigger favor
5. Avoiding (Kamikaze)
   • When to Use:
     • The value of investing time to resolve the conflict outweighs the benefit
     • When you’re dragged into a negotiation unprepared

Negotiation Gambits

Phase wise Gambits

Beginning Gambits:

1. Dont open first – It is observed that whenever you open first in any negotiation, it ends up in a bargain and MPP is not exposed
2. Ask for more – Always ask for more than you expect and increases your chances of expanding the pie as the opponent ends up giving equal/more than your actual expectations
3. Bracketing and Silent close – We don’t have to come up with our actual expectations and make the opponent come up with a better deal
4. Reluctant Buyer – Show reluctance while getting an offer, which makes the opponent bring down the deal to an unexpectedly better price

Middle Gambits:

1. Let me talk to the Manager – By leaving the decision up to a fictitious or unapproachable higher entity, you can strengthen your position allowing you to put pressure on the opponent in a non-confrontational way.
2. Challenging the bluff – Radiates confidence in your offering and puts you in a higher position
3. Tit for tat – When you know you hold the authority to get the deal in favor of the opponent, by yourself or by the agreement of a higher authority, you can ask for something in return for the same.

End Gambits:

1. Good cop, bad cop – Time & Psychological Pressure come into the picture, and people end up agreeing to the offer
2. Nibbling -Usually used when a big favor is rejected and the opponent is under psychological pressure to not reject the request again and again and ends up giving multiple little favors
3. Winning Gambit – Conclusion and execution of the deal and reinforce the satisfaction of the opponent

Final Thoughts

• Negotiation is an art, where you apply your creativity to resolve differences and agree on a mutually acceptable solution
• Always try to create a win-win situation
• Assurance of satisfaction of the other party is our responsibility
• Prepare your questions and facts before the negotiation
• If the proposed solution is not working out, expand the PIE
• Practice the negotiation using your experience and apply the Negotiation matrix to select the best negotiation style
• Practice using the gambits during different stages of negotiation i.e. beginning, middle, and the end
• Be agile during the negotiation, and change your styles or gambit as per the need of the situation
• Finally, empathizing with the other party helps you in negotiating and strengthens your position in the process

References:

• Course on Negotiation – https://www.udemy.com/course/negotiation-fundamentals/learn/lecture/8140507#overview 
• Harvard’s Program on Negotiation – https://www.pon.harvard.edu/ 
• https://www.cips.org/knowledge/procurement-topics-and-skills/strategy-policy/negotiation/ 
• Pie Theory – https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/negotiation-skills-daily/when-dividing-the-pie-smart-negotiators-get-creative/