Negotiate Win-Win Business Deals
This article from TEC® Best Practices contains an excellent overview and recommendations for negotiating successful business deals, including the following:
Four common negotiating myths make it difficult, if not impossible, to create win-win deals:
Negotiating myth #1: Negotiating involves competition.
Reality: Negotiations involve exchanging information and resources in order to satisfy the different and sometimes conflicting needs of two or more parties.
Negotiating myth #2: Negotiating involves bargaining.
Reality: Bargaining is competitive; negotiating is cooperative. Bargaining focuses on who is right; negotiating focuses on what is right. Negotiating creates long-term deals and relationships. Bargaining agreements never last because the losing party always insists on the chance to come back and get even.
Negotiating myth #3: Negotiating always involves compromise.
Reality: Nobody wins in compromise because both sides end up getting less than they want or need.
Negotiating myth #4: Effective negotiations involve the use of tactics, trickery and manipulation.
Reality: Honest, ethical negotiators never try to manipulate or deceive the other side. Tactics should only be used in self-defense.
The bottom line is that negotiating business deals has nothing to do with bargaining, compromise and competition. To create win-win outcomes, both sides must:
Strive to understand the other person's wants and needs
Attempt to solve the other person's problems as well as their own
Adopt a mindset of flexibility rather than rigidity
Focus on "enlarging the pie" rather than dividing it up
Always aim for win-win outcomes
