What are the best ways to prepare to negotiate? What factors should you consider before entering a negotiation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts agree that preparing to negotiate is essential. We’ll cover the main ways to prepare for a successful negotiation\u2014by preparing for the worst, planning your moves and countermoves in advance, determining your boundaries for the negotiation, and understanding what kind of negotiator you\u2019re going up against.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take your negotiation preparation tactics to the next level below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Fisher and Ury (Getting to Yes<\/em><\/a>) write that preparation is the first step in any negotiation<\/strong><\/a>. Since you won\u2019t know what the other side\u2019s strategy is going to be, it\u2019s best to focus on preparation initially and decide your direction of argument later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They recommend some tactics for preparing to negotiate: <\/p>\n\n\n\n You also need to set yourself up so that you\u2019re not surprised by the twists and turns of a negotiation. In The Art of the Deal<\/em><\/a>, Donald Trump writes that you need to prepare for the worst: No matter how well it seems to be going, any deal can fall through<\/a>. If you act conservatively and prepare for this worst-case scenario, you\u2019ll protect yourself against loss or failure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if you\u2019re negotiating the starting salary for a job offer you\u2019ve received, you might prepare for the worst by researching the salary range for comparable positions. Knowing the lowest end of the estimated salary range will give you a good baseline to know if your potential employer is lowballing you. If the worst happens and their initial offer is at the bottom of the range (or maybe even lower), you can plan your countermoves accordingly (a topic we\u2019ll explore in greater depth in the next section).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, Trump emphasizes the need to have a backup plan. Even if a deal doesn\u2019t fall through, conditions can change. Have a plan B<\/a>, plan C, and even plan D\u2014and be flexible and agile enough to pivot to any of them. To continue with our salary negotiation example, your backup plan for a lowball offer might be to make a list of your achievements, skills, and unique strengths as a candidate that demonstrate your value to the company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On a more tactical level, Voss (Never Split the Difference<\/em><\/a>) cautions that to prepare for a negotiation<\/a>, you need to plan some specific dodge-and-counterpunch moves to use\u2014especially when you\u2019re going up against a seasoned negotiator<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are what you do to deflect your counterpart\u2019s \u201cpunches\u201d<\/a>\u2014aggressive threats, demands, and deadlines they may throw at you to pressure you into making a deal on their terms. You can use open-ended questions to say \u201cno\u201d without actually using the word, or pivot to non-monetary terms. Say things like, \u201cLet\u2019s put price aside for now. What else<\/em> can you offer that would make this a good deal for me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You need to be prepared to hit back without<\/em> getting angry<\/a>. Voss champions a technique psychologists call \u201cstrategic umbrage.\u201d This means being genuinely angry (not faking it), but in control of your emotions. The key to strategic umbrage is getting angry at the offer <\/em>being made\u2014not the person making it. Saying, \u201cI\u2019m afraid there are no circumstances that would make that proposal work for me\u201d in a displeased\u2014but measured\u2014tone is a good way to leverage a little bit of anger to your advantage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Negotiation experts write that there are a few tools you can use to determine your boundaries for the negotiation\u2014specifically, when you\u2019d walk away from a negotiation, your minimum conditions for a deal, and the range of outcomes that would be acceptable to both you and <\/em>your counterpart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fisher and Ury write that one tool to prepare for a negotiation is to determine your best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA)<\/strong><\/a>. Knowing your BATNA<\/a> helps you decide when and whether it\u2019s better to accept the deal or to walk away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Negotiation Genius<\/em><\/a>, Malhotra and Bazerman supplement Fisher and Ury\u2019s BATNA concept with two additional negotiation benchmarks to determine ahead of time: the RV and the ZOPA<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your reservation value (RV) is the <\/strong>worst <\/em><\/strong>deal you\u2019re willing to accept in your current negotiation<\/strong>. For example, this might be the highest price you\u2019re willing to pay or the lowest price at which you\u2019re willing to sell. They recommend figuring out what your counterpart\u2019s RV is as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your zone of possible agreement (ZOPA) is the space between your RV and your counterpart\u2019s<\/strong>. For example, if your lowest selling price is $10,000 and the highest your counterpart\u2019s willing to pay is $15,000, then the ZOPA is between $10,000 and $15,000. This range gives you a more tangible measurement of how much value you can either claim or surrender during a negotiation. To claim the most value, you want to make a deal as close to your counterpart\u2019s RV (their<\/em> worst potential deal) as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Voss (Never Split the Difference<\/em><\/a>) writes that before you finally get down to the business of negotiating, you need to understand what type of negotiator you\u2019re going up against.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Voss identifies three main types of negotiators: Givers, Calculators, and Aggressives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Givers are people-pleasers who tend to be highly sociable and agreeable\u2014but also poor time managers<\/strong><\/a>. They\u2019ll often agree to things that they can\u2019t actually follow through on, since they\u2019re so eager to make you happy. When dealing with a giver, Voss recommends focusing on implementation\u2014getting details on how and when they\u2019ll actually follow through on their commitments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Calculators are methodical and diligent people who want to assess all the facts before committing to a decision<\/strong><\/a>. As a result, they\u2019re fairly unconcerned with time and less likely to be pressured by deadlines. When dealing with a Calculator, Voss recommends using clear, unambiguous data to back up your assertions. Also, don\u2019t ad-lib, and avoid giving them any surprises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Aggressives are achievement-oriented people who prioritize getting things done<\/em>.<\/strong><\/a> They hate wasted time and care a lot<\/em> about meeting\u2014and beating\u2014deadlines. According to Voss, aggressives can be especially vulnerable to time pressures, since the biggest defeat to them is making no deal at all. If you can back them into a corner where they\u2019re facing a deadline, you\u2019ll be in a great position to dictate the terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ury and Fisher (Getting to Yes<\/em><\/a>) identify a similar type of negotiator to Voss\u2019s Aggressives: Hardball negotiators. They offer suggestions for how to handle them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hardball negotiators view negotiation as a contest they must win. <\/strong>Their strategy is to take the toughest positions and hold out the longest<\/a>. Their win-at-any-cost approach exhausts energy and resources and ruins their relationship with the other side. Ury and Fisher write that one of the most effective ways to counter this tactic is to simply call attention to it at the outset<\/a>. Doing so will blunt the effectiveness of your counterpart\u2019s bluster and cause them to worry that they\u2019ve overplayed their hand and alienated you. As a result, they may drop it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What are the best ways to prepare to negotiate? What factors should you consider before entering a negotiation? Experts agree that preparing to negotiate is essential. We’ll cover the main ways to prepare for a successful negotiation\u2014by preparing for the worst, planning your moves and countermoves in advance, determining your boundaries for the negotiation, and understanding what kind of negotiator you\u2019re going up against. Take your negotiation preparation tactics to the next level below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":1550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,29,34],"tags":[1256],"class_list":["post-112326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-career","category-communication","tag-the-master-guides-negotiation","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\n2. Know Your Moves (and Your Counterpart\u2019s)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Dodging Tactics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Strategic Umbrage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Determine Your Boundaries for the Negotiation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Find Your BATNA and Learn When to Walk Away<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
RV and ZOPA: Finding You and Your Counterpart\u2019s Conditions for a Deal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Know What Type of Negotiator You\u2019re Dealing With<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Givers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Calculators <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Aggressives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n