Primary goal of negotiation. Negotiation styles

PRIMARY GOAL OF NEGOTIATION

Negotiation is like neither a game nor a war. It is about cooperation and signing an agreement that makes both parties feel that they have been successful. The primary goal of effective negotiation should be to achieve a deal that both parties can live with and that accomplishes your goals without making the other party walk away from the deal or harming a valuable relationship. Basically, the whole point of negotiating with someone is to get something better than what you would get without negotiating.

NEGOTIATION STYLES

There are two main types of negotiation styles, hard and soft. Hard bargaining is also referred to as positional, aggressive, contending, or competitive bargaining; and soft bargaining is synonymous with relational or cooperative bargaining.

Hard Bargainers

In a nutshell, hard bargainers want to be victorious and are willing to jeopardize relationships to accomplish their goal of winning. While this negotiation style eliminates the need to make concessions, it also increases the likelihood that the other party will walk away, resulting in no agreement, and that the relationship will be severed or severely damaged.

Hard bargainers consider satisfying the other party’s needs only if it helps to accomplish their goals and objectives. They tend to withhold important information, purposely provide incorrect bottom-line figures, and embellish facts. As a result of their sometimes deceptive behavior, they tend to distrust the other party. Other traits displayed by hard bargainers are their inflated demands and threats, impatience, pressure tactics, and insistence on their own positions.

Because this approach involves little to no preparation, it is used by many negotiators. However, this negotiation style usually does not yield the best results because it alienates the opposing party and leaves them dissatisfied with the outcome. Before deciding to use this approach, serious consideration should be given to the following questions:

. How important is it that the other party does not walk away from the negotiation?
. How much do you value your relationship with the other party?
. How complicated are the issues?

If you value the relationship you have with the other side, it is important to you that the other party not walk away from the negotiation, or if the matter involves complex issues, hard bargaining will most probably not yield the desired results.

Soft Bargainers

In contrast to hard bargainers, the primary concern of soft bargainers is to maintain or improve relationships by finding a solution that appeases all parties. However, to avoid conflict with the other side, soft bargainers will quickly concede, make concessions, and agree to conditions that are clearly unfavorable for them. The major disadvantages of this approach are that often soft bargainers feel that they are taken advantage of or become bitter and resentful following a negotiation. Soft bargainers tend to be more patient, indirect, accommodating, and trusting than their hard-bargaining counterparts.

So, which negotiation style should you adopt—hard or soft bargaining? According to Roger Fisher, director of the Harvard Negotiation Project, and William Ury, director of the Negotiation Network, the answer is neither. Fisher and Ury suggest a third negotiation style called principled or win-win negotiation. The main idea behind principled negotiation is that both sides explore the interests of both parties and discover a creative solution that makes both sides feel like winners. Fisher and Ury base principled negotiation on the following four points:

1. Focus on the interests of all parties, not their positions.
2. Separate the people from the issue.
3. Make a list of creative options that meet the interests of both parties.
4. Base the end result on an objective standard.