Getting to Win: 3 Negotiation Tactics for Better Agreements

09/16/08 • -1 min

Veris Associates, Inc. - Corporate Learning and Training

David A. Zimmer
Practice Manager
Corporate Learning & Training
Veris Associates, Inc.

Mention the word “Negotiation” and watch the reactions. Some shrink in fear, others start to salivate, some run for cover, and others sport a worn, plaid sports jacket. It is a word that means many things to many people. For the majority, it is a negative term. For those who “got one over,” images of fond memories come to mind. Why is that? Why can a word have so many meanings and evoke such variety of emotions?

Know The Basics

It boils down to the fact that most people are not taught the basics of negotiation, and yet each day, they negotiate some agreement. Granted, many agreements don’t have dire circumstances like a hostage crisis or millions of dollars saved by getting a lower price by just one penny.

Most negotiations happen without people knowing they are negotiating. For example, ask someone for a pen to sign your name and you’ve just “negotiated.” Disagree about a particular method of work and come to a consensus of a better way is negotiation. Speaking with your manager about the priority of work creates a negotiation session. And so forth.

As a project management specialist and managing many projects, I’ve had the opportunity to negotiate – some pleasant situations and some not so sweet. As project managers, typically we have responsibility for certain work being accomplished but no authority to make it happen. As a result, everything we do could be considered negotiation. Those who learn tips and techniques to gain the desired outcome do much better than those who bulldog their way through life. Ignorance in this case is costly.

Negotiation: Art not War

Let’s understand negotiation is not the art of war. Depending on the situation, we might need to strategize and map a course for our negotiation. Regardless of the circumstances, we must realize the art of negotiation is really the art of cooperation. While in the middle of it, it may not appear or feel like cooperation, but if neither side cooperates, no agreement will be struck. Cooperation from both sides is critical to successful negotiation.
Negotiation Definition

Negotiation is defined as:

to deal or bargain with others

to manage, transact, or conduct

to move through, around, or over in a satisfactory manner.

All the definitions bear on negotiations between people. Therefore, three tactics help you become a better negotiator and arrive at better agreements.

Tactic 1: Know Your Opponent

Many people approach negotiation in a defensive manner. They clinch their teeth, steel their gut, and prepare for war. They know what they want from the deal and never stop to consider the other side’s viewpoint. Good negotiators understand their opponent.

Here are the areas to know:

Background. What is their background – culture, economics, social status, educational level, company position, etc. Are they putting on a front or air that facts don’t support? What are their goals? How will they benefit from the deal?
Needs. What does the opponent need from this agreement? What are the minimal requirements for them to feel satisfied? What desires would create a very satisfied opponent? Are they important to you? What is their motivation for the agreement?
Win. What would they consider a “win?” Can you give it to them without compromising or jeopardizing your position...

David A. Zimmer
Practice Manager
Corporate Learning & Training
Veris Associates, Inc.

to deal or bargain with others

to manage, transact, or conduct

to move through, around, or over in a satisfactory manner.

Background. What is their background – culture, economics, social status, educational level, company position, etc. Are they putting on a front or air that facts don’t support? What are their goals? How will they benefit from the deal?
Needs. What does the opponent need from this agreement? What are the minimal requirements for them to feel satisfied? What desires would create a very satisfied opponent? Are they important to you? What is their motivation for the agreement?
Win. What would they consider a “win?” Can you give it to them without compromising or jeopardizing your position...

Previous Episode

The Value of Training: An Investment, Not A Cost

David A. Zimmer
Practice Manager
Corporate Learning & Training
Veris Associates, Inc.

What is the value of employee training?

For most companies, training is seen as an expense and one of the first items to be chopped during the budgeting process. Yet, training, whether in technical skills or critical business people skills, has one of the highest paybacks of any investment.

Pat Muccigrosso, Project Management Officer at NetPlus Marketing, Inc. put it this way, “Training isn’t bodies in chairs being lectured; it is an investment in each person’s life and in the livelihood of the business that pays the bill.”

Sharpen The Saw

Stephen Covey, well-known author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, uses a phrase “sharpening the saw.” We need to take time to sharpen our saws – our skills – to meet the demands of today’s competition.

We would never dream of sending our teenagers out to drive a car without training. We wouldn’t dare go to a doctor to treat our critical ailment unless the doctor was trained in the latest information for that condition. The cost of going to a doctor not trained certainly costs us more in the long run and could cost us our life.

So intrinsically, we know the value of training.

Yet we continually require our employees to work with outdated skills because of cost-cutting measures.

Let’s run some simple numbers to see training as an investment.

We know the costs of training. There are the direct expenses of the seminar and the travel costs. Of course, we fold in the cost of the employee while being trained. The hourly rate of an employee making $50,000 per year is $25 per hour. For the purpose of this exercise, we won’t consider the overhead (benefits, etc.).

The cost of a two day, $995 seminar plus $200 traveling expenses (hotel, food, mileage) and the employee’s wages equals $1595.

From that training, the employee learns a better method of working saving five hours per week in labor equaling $125 per week or $6250 for a 50-week calendar year.

If we compare the cost of training ($1595) versus the return ($6250), we increased our investment value by almost 400%. If this efficiency saves as little as 1.3 hours per week, we recoup our total investment.

Key Factors Toward Gaining the Most Value From Training

What key determining factors exist in getting the most value from employee training?

After years of training thousands of people and seeing the effect it has in their daily work lives, I’ve come to the same two conclusions that others have found and documented: management support for training and empowerment to use the newly-learned knowledge.

The number one key factor is management commitment to training. Without active management support, the value of training diminishes. Those who attend a session are constantly interrupted, distracted by emails, phone calls and other “emergencies.” Rather than focusing on sharpening their saw, they continue cutting down trees with dull blades. When asked to prove the value of training, it amounts to a few wasted days.

Employees empowered to use the newly-found knowledge is the second key factor to valuable training. The purpose of training is to improve work methods, not continuing with the old. If we persist with the outdated methods, learning a better way only frustrates people.

Sergio Radossi, an Engineering Manager stated it this way, “In our case, training was a key component of a strategy to integra...

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Butterflies

	Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

As we begin looking ahead to Springtime and the changes ahead, it's important that we plan for the future.

In previous posts I've mentioned that I enjoy Gardening, and it is the planning phase that will largely account for whether my garden is a success or a failure.

Although it's nice to sit outside and watch the butterflies, due diligence and proper planning are a neccessity.

Below is a clip from AIG that I feel points out the irony quite well.

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