All social and business interaction involves the art and science of negotiation.
Sometimes it is subtle -- sometimes it is obvious.
But elements of negotiation are embedded in every aspect of persuasion, communication, teamwork, leadership, and even battle. There is no escaping the need to master negotiating skills.
Before concerning yourself with your posturing, positioning and poise, and before even considering tactics and strategies to put an agreement or a deal together, you MUST do your research and you must gather intelligence on all aspects of the things, entities, concepts and persons which or who may be involved in the negotiation process. One of your most powerful negotiating tools is simply information. The more, the better. The better, the stronger.
Be armed with deep-level factual information before you even consider entering into either that employment interview or that conference room. You'll start out with a significant advantage.
Common sense? Not really. Most unskilled negotiators, i.e., people, in general, do their discovering and learning during the course of negotiating instead of in advance of the negotiations. This starts them at an immediate disadvantage if their counterparts are better-informed.
As my third-grade teacher used to say, "Do your homework before you go out and play."
And, as a trainful of passengers (mostly traveling salesmen) on a trip to River City, Iowa (from the Broadway Musical, "The Music Man"), once said (in fabulous cadence)..."You've gotta know the territory."
Negotiation - Do Your Research And Gather Your Intelligence In Advance.
To effectively enter into any negotiation, you must be fully prepared, not only emotionally, but informationally.Make it your business to do research and gather intelligence on everything which may be pertinent to the a) the topic or subject about which you are negotiating; b) the entity or company which is "sponsoring" the negotiation (i.e., the owner of the proerty, the company which wants to be acquired, the candidate who wants to obtain your business); and, c) the individual or individuals with whom you will be negotiating...both professionally and personally.
In the matter of negotiations, knowledge is power. The more you know, the more powerful you can be.
No detail which you might discover (such as other bids made, where a particular negotiator went to college, the hobbies of your negotiation counterpart, financial information, previous negotiations with other parties...the CEO's favorite genre of music) is insignificant, or too small to add to your knowledge base.
Not only will this process help you to unearth hidden sensitivities, deadlines, pressures, preferences, and the like; it will make you feel a great deal more self-confident and in control.
If you've done some deep pre-negotiation research and intelligence gathering about the subject matter, the "sponsor," and the cast of negotiating characters ("You were captain of the crew team at Yale! That's great." - and you're off), they will sense this before you even begin to speak -- especially if they are experienced deal-makers and negotiators themselves.
Bottom Line: In negotating anything, prepare before you present.
Faithfully,
Douglas E. Castle http://negotiation1.wordpress.com/ http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/ http://www.tnnwc.com/
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