How to Master the Art of Negotiation

By Alan Gillies

There seems to be unlimited material at everyone's fingertips on how to learn expert negotiation skills. After all, you must compromise while negotiating, and therefore it usually results in a 'lose some to gain more' situation.

Supposing you had the possibility of changing your negotiating opportunities consistently into "gain more" situations - and stay far ahead in the game, wouldn't you jump at this chance? Read further and discover several useful charismatic methods to move the bar radically in your favour.

This task will require that you to do a lot of homework, as you have to learn how to win a battle - without ever stepping foot on the battlefield!

Try to uncover as much detailed information as you can about the person in question. Find out how the individual dealt with similar issues in the past, and if negotiation has been taken up a few times, remind him of the ways in which he had failed - and point them out to him.

This would at least deter him from using those same processes with you. Also, brief him about the chances of a 'win-win' situation turning into a 'win-lose' one, with he being on the losing end.

The vast majority of negotiations don't turn out the way the parties want them to. Negotiation can be very time consuming and is often a strenuous exercise, and in such situations, it may lead to both of the parties becoming disinterested and losing the initiative to continue.

Also, a lack of motivation on the part of either of the individuals can rapidly lead to a breakdown, thereby terminating any likelihood of an agreement in the future. Sometimes, a third party can set up a deal with your suppliers or customers with less difficulty than you can, and as there is 'no use of crying over spilled milk', why let that kind of situation ever happen?

Negotiation is certainly not something to run away from, but when it is known that the process won't help much, it should be held back as a final option. For instance, if negotiation attempts with one of your suppliers or customers have not yielded enough in previous situations - stop negotiating, and try something new.

In this sort of situation, one should proceed in a very direct way and establish clear terms. This will at the very least save the time and effort which would have been in vain had negotiation otherwise ensued.