Negotiation is one of the most commonly used skills of anyone in business. From negotiating roles and responsibilities with staff to supply agreements to customer contracts, negotiations are at the heart of almost every corporate interaction.
Despite the importance of this skill, very few people are ever taught to negotiate. They learn through trial and error, by testing things out and observing others. However, a structured approach to building your negotiation skills can deliver in hours what may otherwise take years to learn.
Here's some feedback from some participants in a recent course I ran.
What's the number one thing you're going to do differently in your next negotiation?
"Probably just using a negotiation planner in the first place. I think it's pretty generalist piece of takeaway, but I think it sets out quite quite cleanly what you need to go in with."
"I think one of my biggest things that I learned was how to prepare in a better way. It's one thing being across the facts of your situation, but actually having that set out in a way that you can refer to and kind of talk about more with the other side - this is something that I've found I haven't done a lot in the past. I've thought more about my client and myself not so much about the other side."
"This is not necessarily something that I employed in either of the negotiations, but you discussed taking control of the structure of the negotiations. I think that really will be helpful. And I think not being afraid to have a structure and sort of guide the other party back to it."
"I think planning is key. But also keeping in mind that BATNA. Just seeing how crucial that is and how that plays out. I will definitely be taking that away and making sure I keep that front of mind for future negotiations."
"Thinking about both parties interests and trying to preempt what they are thinking. Also thinking about their BATNA and my BATNA and exploring different options and different creative options, which I think I could have done better."
"For me, it was really the standards and understanding those standards. It's how I can justify what I'd be asking for and pre-empting that they are going to want me to back up what I'm asking for. So I think that was that's probably the key takeaway for me."
"I think for me, it was preparation and also being mindful of how to frame certain questions to the other party so that it is not disadvantaging our clients."
"Being curious and understanding what the risk of disclosing something is. Not necessarily being scared of disclosing."
"Although taking care is important being prepared to share a little bit about the interests, because that ultimately can be a key ingredient to getting the negotiation done."
If you want to build your negotiation skills, contact us to find out about our upcoming public online courses.