Business negotiations: types, rules and examples of

Business negotiations are present in the life of every manager of any link. In essence, this is a business conversation, which is a form of oral exchange of information between several people. Formal decisions are not always made after business negotiations, but they are useful due to information obtained during conversations.

Business negotiations is a business communication that helps to reach an agreement between the parties. Negotiations are necessary in order to be able to discuss the problem with a partner, as well as try to find a solution that will satisfy all parties. To date, a qualified manager is very important to be able to conduct business negotiations.

Negotiations can carry the following functions:

• Informational – when the parties only want to exchange different points of view in preparation for the main negotiations.
• Communicative - in this case, the parties prefer to establish new relationships, relationships.
• Control, coordination of actions. In this case, the negotiations are partners who have already established business relations, and they need only clarify some of the nuances of the previously achieved relations.
• Regulatory - this function is necessary if it is necessary to settle the problem or conflict in time, to stop all disputes.

Business negotiations can be divided into two types - internal and external. Internal negotiations are held within your team or company. External negotiations are those in which there is an invited party, these can be partners, competitors or customers. Internal negotiations often end in mutual agreements. Here, two sides are working to obtain a positive result for the company: they analyze, draw conclusions and offer the best options for resolving the current situation.

At Harvard, graduates and professors came up with a new kind of principled negotiations. Concessions and firmness of position alternate here. We know this method as the carrot and stick method. The essence of this principle is to hold a tough position, which allows us to consider first of all only the key essence of the problem or the issue under discussion.

With business partners it is best to follow the rules established in the business environment. This in the future will give you the opportunity to have a good, strong and mutually beneficial relationship.

In ancient Byzantium, the “protocol” was the first part of the document, where the list of participants of the meeting was usually located. Today it is a set of rules, according to which a variety of ceremonies should be held, a dress code should be established, a form of official letters and so on.

Every violation of the laws of the protocol will mean that those who have violated the protocol may have problems. This party should apologize for its mistake. Then the mistake must be corrected. Thanks to the observance of the protocol during negotiations and greetings, with the flow of documents and the management of various contracts, business meetings become more important.

Each country has its own national ethical standards. But basically this concept is one for all.

Practically all the preparation for negotiations (both internal and external) is divided into several elements. The main ones include the following:

• definition of the problem, for which it is necessary to conduct negotiations;
• search for those who help solve the problems;
• determination of interests (own and partner);
• clear wording of the plan and program of the meeting;
• if necessary, representatives of the delegation are selected;
• organizational issues - the collection of documentation, tables, samples and other materials that may be useful in the negotiations.

Meetings can be internal and external, formal and informal. These are their main styles. The difference in them is the presence of documentary fastening of certain moments, the protocol of negotiations, the peculiarities of the topics discussed and the subject of this conversation.

By the nature of the negotiations can be divided into partnerships and counter. Counter negotiations are held if a conflict has arisen between the parties that needs to be resolved. At the same time, the decision should be neutral and suit both parties.. This type of conversation is known for its aggressiveness, since each side wants to win in the negotiations. In this kind of conversations, partnership, cooperation, and development of the parties are usually discussed.

The negotiation process can be divided into several stages. Their structure has long been defined. One of the main stages in the negotiations is an introductory conversation, during which you can clarify the subject of the meeting, to resolve emerging issues on the organization of negotiations. It could also be a meeting of experts, which usually takes place before the start of negotiations between leaders and delegations.

The main six stages include:

• Training. Proper preparation for business negotiations carries 90% of success. Despite the great desire to act impromptu, it is not recommended to ignore this stage before the meeting. Then you can add an intermediate stage of views.
• Clearing. Do not act immediately, do not start trading. Try technically to establish contact with the other party, determine its standards. Next, try using pre-prepared questions to find out what the other side has interests.
• Promotion of offers. This stage is characteristic as a means of resolving disputes. Here the parties can exchange offers, determine where and why they have any misunderstandings. Be sure to fix all differences and disputes.
• Bargain. This part of the meeting affects what you agree on. Here you can solve all differences through the exchange of information, concessions. Effective bargaining is an exchange of what may have a different price and value for each opponent.

• Making decisions. We can assume that you are approaching the final stage of negotiations. However, do not rush. Ask yourself the question: “Is the proposed agreement beneficial or is it possible to agree on an even more favorable option? "
• Securing arrangements - the final of your meeting. There are cases when opponents agreed on everything and dispersed. However, the very next day, during the implementation of the agreements, a situation may arise that someone did not understand his opponent as it should have been. That is why it is necessary to technically record absolutely all the agreements and the results of the meeting. This will help avoid ambiguous situations in the future.

Absolutely any negotiations must be prepared in advance.When preparing, it is advisable to gather the necessary information about the partner, think over the arguments in advance about your proposal, and also preferably think over and lose in advance all possible options for the outcome of the business conversation.

There are a huge number of methods for conducting tough negotiations. There are several main ones.

Here the hard negotiator puts all the cards on the table almost immediately. At the same time, he declares absolutely all the resources that he has available (or not). The calculation in this tactic of negotiations is based on the fact that all the options that the other party can prepare are immediately considered “wrong” and “unattractive” for cooperation.

If the opponent of the hard side takes this information as a fact, he has nothing left to do except consent or withdrawal. The disadvantages of this method include the possible loss of a potential partner (possibly in the future).

After the tough opponent voices all the conditions to the “victim”, you can agree to talk about these conditions. In this case, the “victim” can lead the opponent to the scenario she needs, giving her arguments.

You can stand on its position more rigidly. Here, the opponent may think about what exactly he will lose, and can accept the terms of the “victim” (with some amendments in his direction).

In conjunction with the words "Yes, but with the condition ..." and friendly conversation, the opponent can relax a little. Further, the "victim" can go on the offensive. The purpose of this game is considered the continuation of the conversation.

A strong opponent of the negotiations will change the mood of the other side. Here from the tough negotiator sound nice words, then accusations. Contradictions from the mouth of one person during one conversation will prevent the “victim” from thinking about his proposal. She can be in a confused state, can lose psychological stability.

To counter a strong opponent in this kind of negotiation, The “victim” must initially understand that this is a game and it passes exclusively for one purpose. To put the attacking side at a dead end, it will be enough to gently but persistently ask you to sort out the situation using the "collision criteria" method. A prerequisite - the "victim" must speak confidently and non-aggressively. This leads the attacker to a dead end and makes it impossible to blame the opponent for the rough negotiation.

In this tactic, the previous two are well combined. First, a hard negotiator communicates, conducts bidding and so on. Everything goes well until the moment the “victim” wants to say his final “yes”. There is already a hard side to the full included in the work and goes into attack, saying: “This proposal is not appropriate for us. We are not interested.

The calculation is made on the fact that a relaxed “victim” will not fight back to a tough negotiator and will be able to accept the first conditions that the tough opponent initially stated at the start of negotiations.

During this method of negotiation, a number of categorical prohibitions apply:

• You can not accept any statements in relation to themselves and to the proposal. If the hard opponent would have any comments on your personality, he would immediately express them.
• This method of conversation should not end after the first failure. In this case, bargaining is appropriate.
• Do not apologize.
• Do not make excuses.
• Do not give up their positions.
• It is also not necessary to attack in response or show aggression.
• Do not give your interlocutor a negative assessment. Do not be like him.
• Try to replace unpleasant and negative words with softer ones.

In this type of negotiation, several actions can be carried out to turn the situation on its side:

• Ask clarifying questions. Work on each individual position, called interlocutor.
• Ask about the criteria. For example: “Do I understand correctly that ...”, “What we did not mention important to you in the conversation? ".
• You can try to expose the interlocutor with leading questions: “That's right, do I understand that you are bargaining with me? "," I think that our proposal does not fit. Can you clarify exactly what? ".

According to certain rules of etiquette on negotiations, there is a time frame for the conversation, which is initially discussed at the preliminary stage. Therefore, when the parties come to the negotiations, they already understand what awaits them. Based on this, they build a conversation plan, select arguments, tactics, facts. The hard side in this case is trying to break the entire negotiation scenario that you have already prepared in advance and impose your own.

Prior to the meeting, the parties may negotiate a range of negotiating issues. Negotiator thinks the meeting will be delayed for at least 40 minutes. However, immediately after the meeting, the tough side voiced that there are only 10 to 15 minutes and no more. The Victim prepared her presentation for at least 15 minutes.

This is intended to demonstrate the weakness of its weakness. Or the “victim” will obey the rules and requirements, or leave immediately. In no case can not be indignant, take all the words spoken by the hard side, for the truth, try to keep within the allotted time.

What can be done:

• You can agree. However, it is better not to pay attention. Negotiate as if nothing happened.
• The meeting is usually managed by someone who knows how to hear and ask the right questions. First of all, do not overwhelm the other side with a presentation of yourself and your proposal. First ask him about his needs, about what selection criteria are important to him.
• After you have figured out all his needs, you can give your opponent exactly what he wanted.

In the next video you will find the methods of conducting business negotiations (preparation, methods of manipulation and examples of effective business communication).