“I only have about 30 minutes to strategically plan for this negotiation. And I know I should spend more time planning, but I have a ton going on right now. What should I do?”
I get this question a lot. We are all busy and time-pressed. Given this, here is my recommendation: spend at least a few minutes each on these 10 issues. Of course, you may decide to spend more than 30 minutes. If so, it will be time well spent.
These are organized around my Five Golden Rules of Negotiation, the fundamental building blocks of strategic negotiation based on the experts’ proven research.
Information is Power-So Get It!
1. What are our and our counterpart’s goals and fundamental interests/needs/motivations?
2. What options may satisfy our and our counterpart’s needs and interests (that “benefits both and truly expands the pie.”)?
3. Who are we negotiating with and are they the appropriate person (level of authority, etc.)?
4. What negotiation strategies/tactics/styles has our counterpart used in the past (strategic intelligence/reputation)?
Maximize Your Leverage
5. What is our Plan B and what steps can we take to strengthen it?
6. What do we believe is our counterpart’s Plan B and what might they be doing to strengthen it?
Employ “Fair” Objective Criteria
7. What standards or benchmarks underlie why this deal makes sense and is “fair and reasonable” for us and possibly them too? (Market value analysis, precedent/previous deals with the counterpart, internal financial analysis concerning our costs/profitability, expert opinions, etc.).
Design an Offer-Concession Strategy
8. What is our game plan/roadmap for where we should start – our first move – and when and where we should make subsequent moves (so we end up at our goal)?
9. What is our first move here – and theirs – and what patterns exist (how often do parties typically go back and forth, etc.)?
Control the Agenda
10. For our major negotiation sessions;
– When should we meet and for how long?
– What should we discuss and in what order?
– With whom should we meet?
– How should we meet (in person, email, online meeting, etc.)?
– Where should we meet?
After the negotiation, I also strongly recommend debriefing and evaluating what strategies worked and considering what you might do differently next time. That’s how you improve your long-term skills – and results.
A friend recently called for help involving a large purchase negotiation. We walked through these 10 issues. While our call only lasted about 30 minutes, I’m confident it will save him thousands of dollars. That’s a great return on investment.
Latz’s Lesson: Don’t despair if you only have 30 minutes to strategically plan for your negotiation. But to get the most from that time, address these 10 issues
* Marty Latz is the founder of Latz Negotiation, a national negotiation training and consulting company that helps individuals and organizations achieve better results with best practices based on the experts’ research. He can be reached at 480.951.3222 or Marty@LatzNegotiation.com.