4/04/2007

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