If there is anything that will destroy your negotiation, even before you start, it will be your belief that the other side is far stronger, wiser, bigger, has better products, or whatever.
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Whether you are negotiating on the sell-side with your best accounts or negotiating with key and strategic suppliers, the leadership team needs to be clear on how suppliers can create value that flows through to your best accounts.
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To make a decision in a negotiation you need to understand what will satisfy you and what you need to do to satisfy the needs and interests of the other party. Do they value the process of expanding the pie or are they fixed on a single outcome?
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Your world is changing, and changing fast: characterised by turbulence; shifting regulations, evolving technology, economic uncertainty, and competitor movement and changing customer needs. These fast changes mean that you and your negotiation team needs to be more agile in response to these drivers.
As we continually say in our books and blogs, competitors are becoming more aggressive – favourite weapon of choice price. Customers are becoming more demanding, and shareholders are demanding increasing profits: so companies must either increase revenue or increase productivity. However, increasing revenue and productivity is getting harder.
The success of a negotiation depends on the planning and preparation done beforehand for each of the four distinct phases of the negotiation process:
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In B2B settings negotiations are more complex than ever before. Most companies know how to prepare for and negotiate effectively but don't have a strategy or framework when negotiating with their top 10-20 accounts. They negotiate based on who is the 'top gun' negotiator.
Why is this?
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Guest blog by Graham Godbee
www.learndevelop.com.au
I recently attended a business conference in Sydney and was fortunate to attend the session: Negotiate or Perish by Stephen Kozicki. As an experienced practitioner in executive management development programs, I found the session highly motivating and am keen to use some of his practical examples in my business negotiations.
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In a previous blog, we looked at the outcomes of negotiation. To reach these outcomes you need to take into account your own principals and those of the parties with who you are negotiating.
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In a previous blog we looked at the types of negotiation, but it is equally important to choose your outcomes before you begin negotiating. Let's take a look at the different outcomes.
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To be a successful negotiator you need to understand that a negotiation can only take place when everyone involved thinks they will get some benefit from the transaction. Both sides want to be in on the deal and all will influence the outcome.
To be successful you must:
- Analyse the negotiation and choose the best approach
- Be well prepared
- Pay careful attention to detail
- Be creative
In essence - be a TOP negotiator.
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I have previously resisted sending out a Christmas blog because I believed that the Queen or a world leader waited all year to send out their Christmas message, and I shouldn't create another one. However, it has been a busy year, Brexit, Trump, Turnbull and too many other things to mention. A couple of things happened this week that changed my mind.
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Managers in today's complex business environment require negotiation skills for business success. They need to develop a tool kit of negotiation strategies and understand how these influence and are influenced by their surroundings. Being successful in leading groups and shaping group decision making is vital, both internally and with key customers and suppliers.
In your tool kit you need tools to manage:
- Relationships
- Substantive Issues
- Value
We have already explored the theme from market trends: Are procurement undervaluing suppliers? In this blog, we will concentrate on the need to understand culture in global negotiations.
The secret of great global negotiations is not one thing, but many: communication, planning, risk taking and cultural differences. But, one key item or secret of success can be gleaned from Aristotle in his book Rhetoric . The secret is: balance your negotiation argument with logic and emotion.
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A headline about the US presidential debate claimed Hillary Clinton unties the Gordian Knot (ABC news online 27 September 2016). In this case, the Gordian Knot is
"... the growing realisation that Mr Trump continues to rise no matter what serial atrocities or outrages he commits ..."
The article talks of Mrs Clinton unpicking the knot during the debate. In plain language, she discredited Mr Trump. The new 2016 book by influence guru Robert Cialdini helps us understand why Hillary was so successful.
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In a previous blog, we explored the market trends impacting B2B business negotiations and determined there were two main themes from these trends. The first of these being: Procurement - undervaluing suppliers.
The way organisations buy has become more sophisticated, so more companies have introduced professional procurement managers into their negotiations with suppliers. In today's business environment companies must pull every possible lever to improve profits, so getting a price reduction on a product or service is the easiest way to reduce costs. On face value getting cheaper prices seems an appropriate approach, however, we challenge that paradigm.
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In the first blog of this series, we reviewed how to get a deal for Brexit and understood that the top eight countries by population are critical: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Netherlands and Belgium. First to prevent a blocking coalition and second to create a winning coalition of countries. In the second blog, we explained how to prepare for these complex negotiations. In this third blog, we will examine roles when negotiating as a team. Then we will look at how to negotiate in multi-party negotiations.
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There are a few relentless market trends impacting how B2B companies do business. These market trends are long-term and impact the top and bottom lines of B2B companies around the world.
1. Customer Consolidation
2. Centralisation of Decision Making
3. Different Decision Makers
4. Increasing Competition
All of these market trends are making it harder to keep, win and grow customers profitably. What does this mean for your organisation?
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Spend a moment thinking about the messages you received about winning as you were growing up. Think about sport, study, games, finances, and career. Think about your friends’ attitudes to these activities too. It’s probable that most of you are conditioned to think that winning, in any competition, is the most important part of the game.
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In the previous blog, we completed the vital step of understanding the process of decision-making. Now we will examine how to prepare for these complex negotiations.
Given the number of countries, it is likely that coalitions of countries will form. Dealing with coalitions requires special skills. But according to Peter Block, one of the most important skills is to say no when you mean no. In other words, a vital part of preparation is to identify what you will not do.
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Managers in today’s complex business environment require negotiation skills for business success. They need to develop a toolkit of negotiation strategies and understand how these influence and are influenced by their surroundings. Being successful in leading groups and shaping group decision making is vital, both internally and with key customers and suppliers.
Read More
In a previous blog, we explained some of the reasons the Brexit negotiations are so difficult.
Imagine for a moment, that you have been given the job of leading the negotiations. How would you prepare? Let's start at the end. Assuming we have a deal, who has to approve it?
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