Easy Negotiation Techniques

There is an old saying in the West that says that if the preacher talks too much about stealing, better sneak out a little early, race home and lock the cellar!

The same holds for the good old boy that says, Ah, we don’t need to have a contract. You can trust me. The most innocent reasons for putting something in writing are that frankly each of us forgets, changes our minds or some folk just plain lie!

Robert Ringer famously said in the 70’s, If you have it in writing, you have a prayer. If you don’t have it in writing you just have air! Sadly, old Bobby was right more times than wrong.

A Contract is a meeting of the minds. When two people finally have that, it means that they think the same thing, or at least at that moment in time they think that they think the same thought! So a good thought is to write that good thought down in black and white so both parties can look at it. When you both see it in those bold letters and it is really what you both were thinking, then you really do have a contract. The final touch is when each of you put your John Hancock’s on the dotted line.

Then in the future when your partner decides that he doesn’t remember it the way you do, each of you can pull out that paper and refer to it to refresh your aging memories. Of course, you keep a copy in your 40-ton vault just in case your partner still doesn’t agree ‘cuz that’s what courts are for! Besides, we want to fall into the status quo.

The US has 5% of the world’s population, 95% of the world’s attorneys and 98% of the world’s litigation. And if you were to sneak a peak at the stats, I’m sure we’d find that a goodly part of that is split between New York and California! (quote me and I’ll deny it!) So don’t worry, sue him. You’ll be right at home in good company.

Most all of us want to think the other person is honest and wants th Read more »

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In this age of partnerships, alliances, and joint ventures, the need for skilled negotiators is more important than ever.

Partnership ventures can really complicate a relationship. They certainly require special negotiations.

There will be issues where both parties seriously disagree. There will be benefits and contributions that involve unknown or uncertain sharing requirements. Partnership ventures require assumptions - many of which will be wrong. There will always be an imbalance of power between the two parties in the sharing of benefits and contributions. The right formulas must be negotiated.

What are acceptable labor, overhead costs, and profits?

Can the supplier sell new designs, techniques, software, and components to a competitor?

When one party runs into trouble what happens? Who picks up the work? Costs?

What accounting system is used? Does each party have the right to audit the other?

How are changes handled? Priced? Rejected or accepted?

What further complicates these types of negotiations is that the original negotiators who established the partnership venture often move on. Project managers, engineers, technical staff, sales people, and operational staff then have the responsibility to make the venture work. This requires hundreds of negotiations and re-negotiations over the life of the venture.

Things often go wrong, or do not provide the originally intended results. One of our clients just told us about a partnership they have with a foreign company to deliver software, computer and engineering services. The original agreement was based on a set of assumptions that would make the venture equally profitable for both companies, based upon a split of the work over the next five years. Not long into the project, our client realized that the work formula would not provide an equ Read more »

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One of the best negotiation strategies you have when negotiating over the price of something is to get up and prepare to leave while saying, “Thanks for everything, but I’m not interested in the terms of this deal.” You may also say something like, “This deal is not for me,” or “I just can’t do it at that price.” Say this with a smile, shake their hand, and wish them all the best as you prepare to leave.

Never put yourself in a position where you can’t walk away. Don’t fall in love with a product or service. If the seller knows you “must have it,” it will be much more difficult for you to negotiate the best price. If you can stay emotionally detached from your deals, you will be able to make smarter, more rational decisions.

The key is to be able to walk away on good terms. If you explode with a barrage of expletives and storm out slamming the door at the “outrageous prices,” or something similar, you will have closed off future negotiations with this seller. If you smile, wish them the best, and leave on good terms, you have not closed the door to future negotiations. Keep a positive attitude and don’t get personal. It’s just business.

I used this the last time I purchased a car. I had the absolute rock bottom lowest price sitting before me after having several changes in price and interest rate already. And in fact, I had a deal that was in my range of acceptance and that was a good deal on the car sitting in front of me. However, I wanted to try and get a bit better. I stood up, told the salesperson that I appreciated his time and what he offered, but it just wasn’t good enough for us to buy the car. I then told my wife we should leave. And we did! We shook hands, took his card, and left.

We drove down the street a ways and pulled into a parking lot where we could talk. We discussed that the price they came down to was pre Read more »

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