Negotiating Tips, Career Negotiation, Negotiation Strategies, Business Negotiation August 9, 2010

How to reach your negotiation objectives.

The purpose of engaging in negotiations is to achieve business objectives, whether they are about pricing, terms or whatever other issue you are aiming to resolve. What is the best way to get to your objectives? According to Dr. Chester L. Karrass, if you want to achieve your objectives you need to organize yourself and your team around a program.

Dr. Karrass’ program has four phases:

1. Improve negotiation planning: This phase has to do with ensuring your planning is effective. In it you will separate your strategies from your tactics, improve your assumption testing and information gathering, and organize your team and resources.
2. Training: In negotiation, knowledge equals power, which is why private and corporate negotiation courses offer a great return on investment. A training program will provide your team with an understanding on how negotiation works, common strategies and tactics and the latest research in the field.
3. Improve the negotiator selection process: Selecting the individuals that form a negotiation team should be an exacting process. Make sure to choose people based on observation and evaluation of how they have performed in previous negotiations. Personality does matter!
4. Establish negotiation as a high level activity: The outcomes of negotiations could make or break a company. Because certain negotiations are essential, you should organize an elite team to take them on.

In sum, to reach your business objectives you must make negotiating effectively a high priority for your organization.

How does your organization handle negotiations? Do you think there is room for improvement? Consider our private corporate negotiation training courses if you're not sure of these.