7 Steps To Effective Negotiations

So much of leadership, requires the ability to negotiate, effectively, and wisely, yet, so few individuals, who, either ascend to, are elected, and/ or selected, to these positions, appear prepared to do so, in the most professional manner. Only when a leader realizes, how important, it is, to proceed, consistently, with the ability to pursue the finest, professionally - developed, negotiations, will he make the greatest impact, for the better, for the organization, he represents, and the stakeholders, he serves. With that in mind, this article will attempt to briefly identify, consider, review and discuss, 7 steps towards effective negotiations, including how important, the preparation of a relevant, Request for Proposal, or RFP, is, to making a difference, for the better.

1. Know the purpose: Don't jump into any negotiation, unless/ until, you first fully understand and appreciate the purpose, you wish to achieve, and consider your priorities, and focus! One must be able, to thoroughly explain the needs, to the other side, if he hopes to achieve his objectives, but, that means, first understanding them, himself! Once this is understood, it should become the preliminary focus, of the RFP, which you submit, as the first - step, in a professional negotiating process!

2. Clarify position/ needs: Effectively negotiating, never should include, distorting, and/ or lying about what you organization offers, to the other negotiator, because, unless you earn the trust, you'll never achieve, in the long - run, the proper objectives! The clearer, you explain, what you need, and the better you identify the difference between needs, and wishes, the better your results! Seek a win - win scenario, if you hope to achieve what you seek!

3. Useful budgeting: Rather than creating a budget, after - the - fact, hoping to squeeze, a square - peg, into  round - hole, one should create a realistic, useful budget, which requires, under - estimating revenues, and over - stating expenditures. Include every foreseeable expense, from marketing, and attracting attendees, to venue expenses, including Food and Beverage, etc, to transportation, etc, costs, and negotiate, based on a realistic understanding, of what you can afford, and clearly, explain that, to the other negotiator. This should be the preliminary basis of your RFP.

4. Open and honest; empathetic: Study what the other side needs, and seeks, and seek to create a meeting - of - the - minds, where both sides, work together, to share savings, and proceed, effectively! The combination of genuine empathy, as well as integrity, are essential components, in this process!

5. Priorities vs Wish - list: Identify, understand, and differentiate between the priorities, and your wish - list. While there are some items, which might be sacrificed, in a specific negotiation, these must not be any of the priorities!

6. Effective negotiating: Think - outside - the - box! Discuss approaches, which will benefit both sides, so everyone considers this a win! That is the key to effective negotiating!

7. Close the deal: Move the process, along, towards a successful conclusion. This means, showing how this make sense, to both sides, and after, meaningfully, negotiating, for over 4 decades, it means closing, the deal.I like to use, something like this expression, In light of how this benefits both of us, and makes sense, for us to proceed, doesn't it make sense, to come to a meeting - of - the - minds, as soon as possible, and proceed forward? Doesn't it?

Whether you are negotiating for an event, office space, or anything else, a real leader must do so, as professionally, as possible! Will you have the patience, understanding, and persistence, to do so?

MY LATEST ACTIVITIES

Haven't Blogged here for a while, so I wanted to let you know what I've been up to. I have now had over 36,000 views of my over 855 Ezine Articles. It's pretty exciting! I've also done some Blogging on local issues on the Port Washington Patch.

Perhaps the most exciting two pieces of news both occurred within the past month:

1) Started a new corporation. The company is: PLAN2LEAD, LLC, and has a trademark pending. Take a look at the website at: www.plan2lead.net. The concept of PLAN2LEAD is to give the best consultations in the fields of leadership, training, management, negotiations, and event planning, as well as assist organizations in the important task of strategic planning. I will also be continuing my popular seminars on attitude adjustment, mental attitude, positive thinking, Getting a Yes, etc.

2) My novel, THE FAMILY BUSINESS was published last week on Kindle ebooks. You can download it on your Kindle, your computer, or just about any other tablet. Just use the free Kindle App. In search, just type in: Richard Brody The Family Business.

Keep following. Some exciting things coming up in the near future.

Basics Of Successful Negotiating

Effective negotiation is dependent on a number of key factors. One of the least discussed, yet most essential, is mutual trust and understanding. Without these, the probability of successful negotiations is significantly minimized. Too often, negotiators enter into a negotiation with an adversarial relationship, and many negotiators make very little attempt to openly and adequately communicate with their counterpart.

Over the past three plus decades, I have successfully negotiated numerous contracts and agreements in a variety of different industries. Without a doubt, negotiations go best when they begin casually, with the negotiators taking some time to get to know their counterpart. Most professional negotiators understand this reality, but sometimes a negotiator "postures" for either political or other reasons. When that happens, it often creates an aura of frustration, and negotiations often break down into personality conflicts.

The most effective negotiations always begin with negotiators communicating openly. While some negotiators like to "play hardball," it is almost never productive. Open communication requires that negotiations follow certain steps. These include:

(1) Both sides fully explain their needs and requirements. If there are budgetary issues, these should be explained upfront, so that there are no misunderstandings.
(2) Both sides need to be honest with each other. Being honest doesn't mean giving in to everything the other side wants, but understanding fully what is be requested, and why.
(3) If this is either a hotel or food and beverage negotiation, the facility must understand what is being asked for. Are there alternatives that will make it less expensive for the facility, thus permitting it to pass along that savings to the prospective client?
(4) In the hotel/ food and beverage scenario, if a hotel believes it cannot deliver what is being requested, at the quality level and price point requested, it should state that upfront.
(5) If either side is negotiating with more than one party simultaneously, that should be fully disclosed. The negotiator should also explain why this is being done.
(6) When one side is unreasonable, negotiations usually fail. Often, the worst case scenario is that the two sides agree, and that the deal is so one-sided that the other side is unable to deliver when and what is needed and was promised.
(7) Negotiators should only promise what they can deliver.
(8) Negotiators should have sufficient authority to make the necessary agreements and frameworks of the deal. Too many levels of negotiation is generally catastrophic to a good end result.
(9) Negotiators should be direct and to the point.
(10) Specific needs and/or requirements must be disclosed upfront.
(11) Each side should submit their requests for concessions from the other.
(12) The best result of any negotiation is when it is "win-win."
(13) The best result of any negotiation, in the long term, results in a deal that is fair to both sides.

Most individuals are not good negotiators. Amateur negotiators often destroy doable deals! Parties to negotiations should both use professional negotiators, who understand what needs to be done to "hammer out a deal." Please read my Associated Content articles on various aspects of negotiating.

Let Professional Negotiators Do Your Negotiating

Having been directly responsible for hundreds of negotiations in several fields over the last three decades, I have come to realize that negotiations invariably go best when handled by professionals. Many individuals portray themselves as negotiations savvy, but very few really have the skills, experience and expertise required, and even fewer consistently obtain best possible results.

If your organization has access to someone with these rare skills, I strongly advise turning your negotiations over to that individual, and leaving him to do his thing. Leadership of the organizations should clearly explain what they are trying to obtain via the negotiations, as well as their priorities. Negotiators must also be given all necessary information and background regarding financially relevant issues.

When organizations follow these rules, they obtain optimum results. However, all too often, there are individuals within the leadership of some organizations who believe that they know best, and get involved, often inadvertently sabotaging the negotiation's effectiveness. Negotiations rarely work when one side speaks through various parties, because it generally sends confusing and negative signals to the opposite side. All sides to a negotiation should enter a negotiation with the intent of getting the best possible deal for his side, while understanding the needs of the opposite side. If a negotiator either asks too much, or too little, the negotiation is not optimum!

When negotiations are win- win, both sides walk away satisfied, feeling victorious. They will then tend to work together in a far more relaxed, comfortable, amiable manner, than if there was an adversarial feeling to the negotiation.

Negotiation is a combination of many factors. It begins with a negotiator doing his homework, and fully understanding the needs, priorities, and limitations of both sides. Negotiators also need people skills, to effectively communicate with the other side, and make them feel comfortable. Negotiators must always confirm and reconfirm all details, so that there is no confusion, and there is a written record of all details. Effective negotiators neither over-ask, or under-ask, and always strive to make the other side feel like their idea is really the other sides. If one party to a negotiation cannot "win," or feel satisfied with the agreement, it will invariably break down, either at the negotiating stage, or when it comes to the implementation.

An organization's leadership training should include a section on the basics of negotiations, but should emphasize that negotiating is a highly specialized endeavor. An effective, professional negotiator can finalize a good negotiation in a far shorter period, with far better results, than most other individuals. Leaders do not have to be specialized negotiators, but must understand what the objectives and realities are. Negotiators get it done!