Winning Tips

For Your Coming Negotiation Combat
N.B. Synopsis of Mind Battling© An Animal Health focused Negotiation Skills- Copyrights Eyad Harfoush- 2007

Negotiation Approaches

Advocate's Approach

• Also known as “Positional Bargaining” approach or “win-loose” approach, wherein skilled negotiator usually serves as advocate for one party and attempts to obtain the most favorable outcomes possible for his own party.
• In this process the negotiator attempts to determine the maximum outcomes the other party is willing to give, or the minimum they would accept to get à adjusts his own demands accordingly.
• A "successful" negotiation is when the negotiator is able to obtain all or most of the outcomes their party desires, but without driving the other party to permanently break off negotiations, unless the BATNA is acceptable.
• In one view, it is perceived as a traditional negotiation, sometimes called “win-lose” because of the assumption of a fixed "pie", wherein one party’s gain results in other party’s loss.
• Another view is that in negotiation both parties are equals by definition and that the best possible outcome is reached when both parties agree to it. If the two parties were not equals, the stronger party would dictate the outcome and there would be no negotiation at all.

Fair Judge Approach

• Also called “Principled Negotiation”, “integrative bargaining” or “Win-Win” Approach, Here, “everybody wins” philosophy assures that all parties benefit from the negotiation process which also produces more successful outcomes than the adversarial “winner takes all” approach.
• Looking behind positions for interests and needs of each party. Also inventing options before deciding
• Considered in general more trendy in all negotiation aspects specially in commercial negotiation.

Comparing Negotiation Approaches

Integrative Bargaining in Sales

Integrative Bargaining in Animal Health

Tactics & Tips

1. Decline to speak first: who speaks second usually has a better opportunity to analyze his counterpart
2. Volunteering to keep the minutes of the meeting: When you do so, you will have a better opportunity to phrase the minutes, and better window to analyze and assess negotiation pathway.
3. Stress on time-frames: Aiming to transmit sense of urgency and a feeling of punctuality to your counterpart.
4. Good guy / bad guy approach: Here, the role of the “bad guy”, or tough negotiator is to lower counterpart’s expectations below required. Then when the “good guy” offers the demanded solution, it gets more acceptance.
5. Claim limited authority: Never be shy saying “Sorry, but I really can not have the rights to do this, I am not authorized to go down to this level”. Even the president can say “I am not authorized to accept this, it will deeply frustrate the shareholders”
6. Caucusing: If you needed to re-align your team talks and perspectives, or to update about an analysis you made, you can ask for a caucusing moments with your team.
7. Walking out: If you needed to buy a moment to think a point over, you can excuse to restroom or to smoke a cigarette.
8. Concession patterns: Whenever you feel cornerized and in a very bad negotiation positions. You can postpone reaching a consensus, or decide to focus on decreasing losses other than maximizing benefits.
9. Fait accompli : “What is done is done, let us face the current situation”. You might use this approach if you do not wish to dig in the past and relate consequences to it.
10. Love it or Leave it : When you hold a very potent position, and you are not willing to create a win-win for whatever reason. You can as a last option use the “take it or leave it” approach. Not as is, but to give the meaning in a descent way that allows your counterpart a surrender with dignity.

Copyrights© 2006. Eyad Harfoush