How to Negotiate Effectively: Improve Your Success Rate; Get the Best Deal; Achieve Win-Win Results

152 Pages·2011·0.76 MB·English

by  David Oliver

How to
Negotiate
Effectively
David Oliver | Third Edition
Publisher’s note
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate at the
time of going to press, and the publishers and author cannot accept responsibility for any errors or
omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or
refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the
publisher or the author.
Parts of this book were previously published as 101 Ways to Negotiate More Effectively, also published by
Kogan Page.
First published as How to Negotiate Effectively in 2003
Reprinted 2004, 2005
Second edition 2006
Reprinted 2007, 2008
Third edition 2011
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted
under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the
case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries
concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned
addresses:
120 Pentonville Road 4737/23 Ansari Road
525 South 4th Street, #241
London N1 9JN Daryaganj
Philadelphia PA 19147
United Kingdom New Delhi 110002
USA
www.koganpage.com India
© David Oliver, 2003, 2006, 2011
The right of David Oliver to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN 978 0 7494 6170 6
E-ISBN 978 0 7494 6135 5
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP record for this book is available from the British
Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Oliver, David, 1951—
How to negotiate effectively / David Oliver. -- 3rd ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7494-6170-6 -- ISBN 978-0-7494-6135-5 (ebk) 1. Negotiation in businesss. 2. Negotiation.
I. Title.
HD58.6.O38 2011
658.4052--dc22
2010018064
Typeset by Jean Cussons Typesetting, Diss, Norfolk Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd
eBook by Graphicraft Ltd, Hong Kong
This book is dedicated to my dad, who taught me my first steps in negotiation.
He taught me the work ethic and showed me by example how to love hard work.
Contents
Introduction
1 Definition
Know what negotiation is
Know what negotiation isn’t
Win–win
2 Count the cost
Commitment
Objective
Strategy
Tactics
3 Seven key elements
Plan and prepare
Rehearse
Explore and explain
Propose
Bargain
Agree
Review
4 Introductory comments
The quandary of uncertainty
Avoid intransigence
Understand aspiration
Never say yes first time
What we think conditions our approach
Before presenting a solution, make sure you understand the needs
5 Enhance your authority
The authority of print
The authority of information
The authority of patience
The authority of positive posturing
The authority of levers
The authority of resolved weaknesses
The authority of clear internal relationships
6 Tactics and countermeasures
Aspiration lowering
It’s all I have got
The hurdle!
The A-Team factor
Erosion
The upward spiral
This is not negotiable
What ifs
Deadlines
7 Negotiable variables – or tradeableconcessions
Never give, always trade
Trade what is inexpensive to you
Don’t give goodwill concessions
8 Rules for making concessions
Trade in small steps
Trade concessions one at a time
Aim higher than you think
Don’t split the difference
Watch out for the shocker
Don’t be first to accede to pressure on primary items
Help the other person to feel they have a good deal
Maximise the value of what you offer
Minimise the value of what they are offering
Don’t just think it!
9 Looking for negotiable variables
Find areas for negotiable variables
Identify key variables and their place in the negotiation
Build in some negotiable variables
Determine whether this is long term or short term
Potential sources of negotiable variables
The magic ‘if’
Use silence
10 Handling deadlock
Watch out for frustration
Avoid immovable positions
Avoid price rot
The bridging moment
Make a statement – ask a question
The way forward
11 Questions, questions, questions
Questioning – an overview
Questions make the difference
Asking questions is the method of navigation
The outcome of questions
What sort of questions?
An exercise
Six summary reasons for asking questions
12 Profiling for strategic level negotiation
Definition
Identify appropriate strategies and cost management techniques
13 The authority of your counterpart
Ensure your counterpart has the authority to negotiate
Check the power behind the scenes
Manage the power behind the scenes
Have we got the decision-maker/s?
14 Handling long-term negotiations
Story 1
Story 2
15 Post-purchase remorse can undo the close
Keeping positive passion for your service and product range is essential for the close
16 Tough or effective?
Characteristics of effective negotiators
Effective negotiators look at buying and selling in the same deal
Effective negotiators balance their team carefully
Effective negotiators keep the whole package in mind
Effective negotiators have a good alternative
Effective negotiators avoid irritators
Effective negotiators embrace mistakes
Effective negotiators have an eye for body language
Effective negotiators always stay in control
Characteristics of ineffective negotiators
17 Dos and don’ts
Do always maintain the initiative
Do put things in writing
Do learn to use higher authority
Do conceal your emotions
Do ask for discount when paying cash
Do use experts
Don’t expect to win them all
Don’t be afraid to break off negotiation
Don’t attack your counterpart – attack the problem
Don’t show triumph
Don’t deal in round numbers
Don’t indicate movement before you need to
Don’t dig your heels in
Don’t be afraid to go back and try again
Don’t be afraid of risk
Don’t succumb to dangerous phrases
Don’t be afraid to make your counterpart work hard
Do identify buying signals in your negotiations
Do look out for personality mirrors
18 Four specific techniques
Using social media in negotation
Specific tips for negotiating print and promotion
Price rises – how to get it wrong
Do research before you buy
19 Final words
The ones that nearly got away
The ten commandments
Don’t be afraid to give
Don’t forget PREPBAR©
How to eat the elephant
Contact details
Negotiation workshops tailored to your company or
department
Appendix
Introduction
This book is for you!
If you are in buying or selling, a business owner or manager, this book is likely
to dramatically change your world and your results. Everyone in business
invariably both buys and sells. Most business owners, managers and partners
buy and sell in different ways every week, sometimes every day. This book is for
you, to help you get the best out of every deal, whether it’s a one-off deal or a
long-term relationship. It is also for the professional salesman or buyer.
Each of these keys for better negotiation has been specifically written so that
it has application for selling and buying. Apply the principles in this book and
you should quite easily see an improvement in your net profit of at least 10 per
cent. No, I’m not exaggerating, so please don’t switch off! Just one idea alone
has saved me £10,000 on the purchase of our family boat.
In fact, in 20 years of teaching this material, no one I know has ever lost
money as a result of its application. But hundreds of people that I have heard
from have taken one or more of these keys and achieved better deals time and
time again.
The material in this book is useful in every sphere of life – work and family.
For example one of our kids works as a trainee paramedic. She has to negotiate
with difficult patients and the ambulance dispatcher from the control centre.
Husbands and wives often unwittingly negotiate. Families negotiate in
relationships and in the parent–children roles – especially in the teenage years.
Our youngest daughter is in the middle of buying her first starter home and that
is a huge negotiation at a young age.
Very few business people negotiate effectively, and the rewards for those
who do are great. Follow these principles and above-average performance will
follow. A 10 per cent improvement is well within your grasp, so read on!
One trend today in modern business practice is based around partnerships
between suppliers and customers. To enjoy a long-term relationship, both buyer
and seller must reach mutual agreement about the business being transacted –
not just price but a whole range of terms, conditions and other related