Win-Win

Two possibilities exist about the way we view the negotiation process. The moderately aggressive stance is where we look out primarily for a strong gain for ourselves. The win-win concept is where we look for our best interest, but where we understand that the other person's interests, if served well, can often serve ours even better. To be effective, both parties must feel they have won.

I was introduced to this personally when one of my clients asked me to launch a company. He never offered me a salary; he asked me to write my own proposal, taking into account the fact that he wanted me to be as motivated as possible to get the best possible return for him as investor. Not only did it force certain issues in my own thinking, it put a strong sense of responsibility on my shoulders. My client looked at the proposal I made, and found one or two places where he believed he could improve my motivation - he was right.

Good negotiation is not about getting everything your own way. It is about balancing each other. You don't defer to your counterpart and concede all that he or she wants - you have your own aspirations, which you must secure. That requires two-way movement which produces win-win. It affects the business relationship positively. It also enables us to achieve not just more sales or better supply, but more importantly, the growth in profit that we are all looking for.

In effective negotiation we should not only be concerned about our own goals and objectives. We should have a genuine interest in, and a good grasp of, what the other party is hoping for or aiming for. The more we can help the other party to achieve what they want, the more likely we are to achieve what we are looking for from the deal. Some trainers assert that you should focus on your own position only. The logic behind this is that the other party is the only one who knows what is best for them. That is probably true with skilled negotiators, but with inexperienced negotiators genuine two-way concern is often necessary.

The more genuine interest we can show in the other party and their aspirations, the less threatened they will be, the more they will volunteer information and the more likely we are to reach an ideal solution. If you can think win-win rather than win-lose you will become more effective, less stressed and always better in the long term.

A small software developer who worked for his client for two or three years graphically illustrated this. It seemed that at every opportunity, the client would try to screw more discount, more value, more price reductions. The software developer got fed up with the approach and allowed his feelings to dictate his response. He dug his heels in, and focused on his own interests. The result was alienation. Had there been frank dialogue, if both parties could have thought through what was important to the other, an amicable and profitable solution would have easily been found.



How to Negotiate Effectively
How to Negotiate Effectively (Creating Success)
ISBN: 0749448202
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 111
Authors: David Oliver

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