Be in Charge of Your Negotiation

Posted by MichealH Alexander on November 16th, 2019

How to Take Charge in a Negotiation Even If You Believe the Other Party Has More Power Than You.

When I speak with clients about upcoming negotiations at some point we talk about power and assess which party has more power and why; and in most cases, my clients believe that the other party has the power over them. They see their opponent as someone who is much bigger, has much more influence, is a tough negotiator and often gets the better deal. They feel they have less power and are unsure of what to do to negotiate successfully. Complete Skilled Negotiator Sydney

They look at the negotiation like a David versus Goliath. Only that David the courageous shepherd boy has been able to battle a giant that many have been so fearful of and demonstrated that size does not always matter. David won the battle as he was not scared, he was confident and prepared. He was in control of himself and did not let anyone influence him by their fears. He had a strategy and he stuck with it, he decided against heavy armor as he knew it would slow him down.

By studying Goliath he understood his strengths and weaknesses and could therefore use this knowledge to shift the perceived power in his favor.

When I speak with my clients about their negotiations they often find themselves negotiating against such giants which can be any powerful opponent; a big brand, a big retailer, or any big corporation which makes them believe that they are the underdog and have to play by their rules. But as Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book ‘David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants’, ‘giants are not what we think they are.’ Giants also have weaknesses, pressures, motivations and goals because at the end of the day we are all people and we all have certain aspects that motivate us. The key is to understand that and then figure out how you can shift the perceived power in your favor.

When we talk about power in a negotiation we refer to two types of power, actual power and perceived power. Actual power relates to the position and the capacity of the negotiator that enables the negotiator to get the better deal.

Perceived power is not objective, it is the perception one party has of the other as to how much power the other party has in the negotiation.

If you believe that the other party has more actual power than you then you need to work on building perceived power, just like David did when he took on Goliath.

Preparation is the key to success here. Through preparation an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the other party is gained. You then need to understand the motivations, desires and pressures of the other party and work out a Negotiation Courses strategy with that information. Think about how they will behave in the negotiation and why they behave the way they behave. Negotiating with an experienced opponent could mean that there is a negotiation history which can be obtained by talking to people who have dealt with that party before. Most people are creatures of habit meaning that their negotiation tactics and styles can be predicted which gives a huge advantage.

Once you have researched the other party and have gained an understanding you can look into the Power Toolbox and develop your strategy.