Easy Negotiation Techniques

Negotiation – Checklist to Improve the Odds

There are a million books on negotiation but busy executives don’t need a book, they need a cheat sheet! I offer these tips based on buying & selling businesses, negotiating with unions, negotiating with venture capitalists, turning around a software group and best of all winning arguments occasionally with my two teenage daughters! We negotiate every day of our lives: sales meetings, staff salaries, policy changes, vacation locations, budget cuts, acquisitions. Life is a negotiation. I’m framing this advice around a major commercial negotiation between two reasonable parties.

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Possible Tactics

1.�Always clarify the up to date position. e.g. you mentioned that a new sales order was imminent the last time we met, tell me more.

2.�Try to establish the housekeeping of the meeting; prospective agenda, time allowed, anyone joining via conference call. (this has the subtle advantage of establishing you as de-facto chairperson)

3.�It is essential that your team stay relaxed and focused. Think of it as gears in a car. If you start the meeting in fifth gear and you get stressed, excited, over zealous – you have very little emotional capacity to go upwards and you will explode! Stay in first gear and seamlessly move up the gears to make a critical point but remember to come back down again.

4.�Your team leader dictates the pace. Never speak unless invited to do so by the team leader. Don’t interrupt a silence. A professional team can make this look very natural.

5.�Use questions to understand a specific stance, assumptions can be dangerous.

6.�On the other hand if you are relying on key assumptions in making a point e.g. the price of a company, please state clearly the main facts you believe to be true including forecasts to allow yourself an escape route if circumstances change.

7.�Be yourself which in my case means never bluffing.

8.�Don’t try to be smart e.g. with respect it is clear from your spreadsheets presented that there is a flaw in your numbers.

9.�Watch body language very carefully especially of the people not talking.

10. Difficult issues should be put to one side to keep the momentum moving forward

11.�Use time outs sparingly but effectively to gather your thoughts and garner input from the team.

12.�On big points please believe in what you say. It will show.

13.�If advisers are involved it is highly recommended that on really big points you deploy the “Principals Only” tactic. e.g. the acquirer and the seller excuse themselves to retreat to a separate room to agree a deal on that key point.

14.�The word “help” is underutilized. As in, perhaps you could help me understand how you win the majority of your business.

15.�Rudeness and sarcasm don’t work even if you’re British.

16.�Document agreements along the way and make great theatre of the volume of points agreed.

17.�Close on clear next steps with a timetable and agree action for non-compliance.

The Portfolio Partnership repositions companies organically and/or by acquisition. Our mantra: companies are either remarkable or invisible. Ian works as an embedded member of your team executing the required initiatives. He applies specific models designed to ensure your company has a compelling story, delivered by a well trained, world class team. He helps clients define and dominate their unique market. He have built up and sold 20 businesses over the last 30 years. The next 5 years will be an unusually attractive time to build remarkable businesses to achieve premium exit valuations in 2014. http://portfoliopartnership.com/index.html