Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People

by G. Richard Shell

a negotiation is an interactive communication process that may take place whenever you want something from someone else or another person wants something from you.

You cannot know when to say yes and when to say no without first knowing what you are trying to achieve. And research on setting goals discloses a simple but powerful fact: the more specific your vision of what you want and the more committed you are to that vision, the more likely you are to obtain it.

We set goals to give ourselves direction but we are not greatly surprised or disappointed if we fall short. An expectation, by contrast, is a belief about what we ought reasonably to accomplish.

Your goals give you direction, but your expectations are what give conviction to your statements at the bargaining table. You are most animated when striving to achieve something you believe you justly deserve.

The goal is to achieve more value or profit, not a victory on the price term.

commitment. Second, spend a few moments vividly imagining how it would feel to achieve your goal. Visualization engages your mind more fully in the achievement process and also raises your level of self-confidence.

The first important step in preparation is committing to ambitious, specific, justifiable goals. Clarity of purpose and optimism are key attitudes to bring to the goal-setting process.

As an experienced Wall Street dealmaker once told my negotiation class, “The key question I always want answered in every deal I do: Why is the other person sitting there?”

Negotiation is not just about maintaining relationships or dividing the pie; it is about making the pie bigger for everyone.

Feel free to open if you are well informed about market value and you want to anchor your counterpart’s perceptions at your end of the fair-value range. Otherwise, ask the other party to open. But if they do, take care. The anchor effect can work on you just as it does on others. When you feel your expectations collapsing based on their opening number, take a break and revisit your preparation.

four effectiveness factors I discuss in chapter 1—a willingness to prepare, high expectations, the patience to listen, and a commitment to personal integrity.

The Six Foundations also provide basic, all-purpose touchstones for good execution: know your personality, focus on your expectations, look for the applicable standards, use your relationships, probe the other side’s interests, and work on your leverage.

Here are seven specific tools that will improve your bargaining performance. 1. Avoid concentrating too much on your bottom line—spend extra time preparing your goals and developing high expectations.

2. Develop a specific alternative as a fallback if the negotiation fails.

3. Get an agent and delegate the negotiation task.

4. Bargain on behalf of someone or something else, not yourself.

5. Create an audience.

6. Gently push back, at least for one round.

7. Insist on commitments, not just agreements.

Here are seven specific tools you can use to improve your negotiation performance,

1. Think win-win, not just win.

2. Ask more questions than you think you should.

3. Rely on fair standards, especially ones the other side believes in.

4. Hire a relationship manager.

5. Be scrupulously reliable. Keep your word.

6. Don’t haggle when you can negotiate.

7. Always acknowledge the other party.

Effective negotiation is, in my judgment, 10 percent technique and 90 percent attitude. To acquire the right attitude, you need all three of the elements mentioned above: realism, intelligence, and self-respect.

In general, my advice is to take a minute at the beginning of a negotiation to size up your counterpart and see which styles he or she is bringing to the table. You can do this by negotiating some smaller items before you get to the main event and gauge the other person’s reactions.