In today's competitive business environment, anabsence of negotiation - or negotiation skills -is perhaps the single largest contributor to thelack of success. The changing nature of thebuyer/supplier relationship in this increasinglychallenging marketplace means all businesspeople need to be ultra sophisticatednegotiators.

Of course good negotiation isn't about youWinning and someone else Losing. Asatisfactory outcome leaves both sides feelingthat they haven't compromised too much, feltthreatened or unnecessarily pressurised, ormade sacrifices that they didn't want to. It isabout reaching a Win-Win resolution. People

now expect to negotiate and see the process asa positive relationship builder, rather than apotential threat. Principled negotiation canachieve a solution that is acceptable to allparties involved, which of course, encouragesrepeat business.

But good negotiation skills are not just an assetin the traditional sales person/customersituation. In all areas of life, with colleagues,employers, even your own family, being able tonegotiate well will allow you to get what youwant without damaging your relationships. Alack of ability in this area can be the singlelargest contributor to preventing people andbusinesses getting what they want (and need).

What are the 10 rules of successful negotiation?

The rules are intended to identify the techniques available to control and influence events tothe individual's own advantage. They also provide a good defence against aggressivenegotiators, thereby producing better agreements with fewer expensive concessions.

Everyone feels that they know how to negotiate, just as everyone knows how to kick afootball. But try explaining the “off-side” rule to a beginner and compare that withunderstanding the subtleties of defensive negotiation, it is then that the need for clear rulesbecomes more important.

“The Resolution of Conflict by Mutual Compromise”

10 Rules of Negotiation

Alan McCarthy of the Resource Development Centre suggests 10 negotiation rules thatwill resolve conflict by mutual compromise and promote sustained relationships.

1. Don't Negotiate. Don't. (Negotiate) unless you need to. Always evaluate your needs

honestly and buy/sell hard; never, if at all possible Negotiate, as it

always requires compromise, which costs. Some people are tempted to

negotiate too soon, just because the other party says this is the

“negotiation phase” - doesn't make it so. Work out your ideal

position and don't be afraid to state it straight away.

2. Never negotiate with yourself. People regularly try to second guess the other party and in doing so

minimise their own expectations i.e. “Ideally I want to be paid £10,000

for this, but maybe they don't have that much. If I ask for £10k or

nearest offer, it might sound less aggressive” - this is the start of

negotiating with yourself. If you start reducing your expectations

from your ideal before you even see the “whites of their eyes”, you

will always end up with a lesser, over-compromised deal. Start out

with your ideal and wait for the other party to ask for a lower figure.

3. Never accept the first offer. There is almost always a different (better) offer behind it. Don't

forget they will be instinctively (or professionally) trying not to break

rule 2 - so their opening stance will obviously be leaning towards their

ideal (perfect) position - with probable room for manoeuvre. Also, be

aware, that you can sometimes annoy the other party by accepting

their first offer; if you accept too quickly they will think they should

have asked for more, resulting in their perception of a lose/win

conclusion (they lost, you won).

4. Never make the first offer. (If you can help it!) It leaks your bottom line straight away. Always

ask the other party “What is your ideal (or target) price?” If you are

backed into a corner - or a “I asked you first………” situation occurs,

make the offer under protest and don't break rule 2. State your ideal

position i.e. your list price if you're selling or your lowest target price if

you're buying.

5. Listen more and talk less. Good negotiators lead by listening, not talking. Let them ramble on

even if it sounds like rubbish, you must bide your time and bite your

tongue. Continued silence will provide you with the opportunity to

pick off their position by their leaked messages of movement. Also,

don't forget, whilst You are listening You can't leak your own position

and give them the advantage!

6. No free gifts. Always ask for something in return. No one values a free gift for long

(it immediately decreases in value once it has been offered), and a free

gift today becomes tomorrows starting point. Don't forget free gifts

are not always money, but can be the disclosure of useful information

or even giving up your time too easily.

7. Don't be the repentant rookie Don't forget the differences between cost, price and value, and work

with these. Cost is how much the concessions cost you, price is how

much you want to charge for it and value is what its worth to the

other party

i.e.: The cost of this tap washer is 10p, the price to fit it is 10 minutes

of my time, which is £10, the value to the other party is that it doesn't

ruin their bathroom carpet and destroy the living room ceiling plaster

at £500 replacement. Aim for the super win-win where both parties

get high value concessions at low cost i.e. We will finish the job early if

you pay 100% up-front in cash.

8. Watch out for the 'salami' effect (i.e. itemising every element of the deal and pricing it). Start with a

complete value-orientated price e.g. materials, labour, clean-up and a

5-year guarantee - £1000. Not £300 materials, £500 labour, £100 clean-

up and £100 5-year guarantee.

The other party will always know where to buy cheaper materials,

then query your labour rates, say they'll do the clean-up themselves

and forego the guarantee - thank you very much!

So a £1,000 deal easily becomes £200-materials, £400-labour in total a

smaller, £600 job. That's the Salami effect!

Only salami when, and as far as you are requested to. Never 'band'

your expectations - it leaks your bottom line i.e. “ I am looking for a

10-15% discount.” Which one do you think you are more likely to get?

Yep, it's going to be closer to 10% than 15%!

9. Never make a quick deal. Say 'maybe', a quick deal usually ends up in regret. Check your

understanding of their offer, by repeating it back to them. It may be

that the other party think that they have seen an advantage for them

(or mistake by you) you have missed, so give yourself time to check the

proposed agreement thoroughly. Never be afraid to take a short break

and review your position before concluding proceedings.

10. Never disclose your bottom line. Not before you start, not during the discussions and never (ever) after

a successful win-win conclusion. By doing this you will always be giving

the other party an undue advantage over you. People learn their

negotiation skills from their interaction with you. They also learn your

limitations and abilities in post negotiation analysis. So don't let them

know how you work under any circumstances - keep them guessing

about your no-deal positions and they will have to move more towards

you than you will towards them.

If you follow all of these rules you will rarely feel the pain the losers

regret, something often experienced by non-professional negotiators

who fail to recognise that there are rules to follow when resolving

conflict.

Contact: alanmccarthy@rdc-uk.com

Alan McCarthy is an award winning careersalesman, selling for Rank Xerox, Exxon, Dunand Bradstreet, US Lines ICL and Fujitsu. In acareer spanning 30 years, Alan has sold into,and managed, sales teams selling toFinancial Services, Logistics, Automotive, ITand Consultancy sectors.

With a realistic and experience basedpragmatic style, Alan continues to engage insuccessful assignments with a wide variety ofclients. Focussing on coaching anddeveloping experienced sales teams andtheir executives, he has conducted over 500assignments in 26 countries.

His experience in competitive sellingstrategies for high value sales propositionshas resulted in his clients winning hundredsof millions of pounds worth of business inhighly competitive arenas.

Alan has worked with large enterprises suchas Oracle, BT, Fujitsu, Invensys, IMI, Europcar,Federal Mogul, Siemens, AT&T and Epson inaddition to many smaller companies.

Alan is the owner of www.negotiation-skills.org and is associatetrainer and senior advisor towww.brightsparkstraining.com

For more information go to

www.negotiation-skills.org