1000 Business Lessons Every Businessman Must Know

Chapter 109 Negotiation Skills: The Negotiation Strategy for a Smooth Negotiation (1)
894. Know Yourself, Know Your Enemy, and Counterattack at the Right Time
During the negotiation process, the other party may use various tactics against you, all of which are designed to make you panic and take your mind off your battle plan.In order for you to successfully fight back against these, it is first and foremost that you know them.In fact, being able to know the enemy may be enough in itself to defeat all the opponent's offensive methods.Here are some tips on how to counter the different strategies and how you can apply them yourself:
(1) Threats - usually should be ignored.

(2) Lying - asking him to present evidence.

(3) Bluff - that is, to treat the person in the same way as the person, so as not to fall into the trap.

(4) Delaying time - forcing the other party to move forward.

(5) Threats with deadlines - ignore this, it's just forcing you to respond.

(6) Ultimatum - Reciprocate him: "This is just your decision and has nothing to do with us!"

(7) Deterrence - confront him.

Of course, the above-mentioned strategies and the ways to deal with them cannot be copied in every situation.It is best to estimate the possible effect of a certain strategy first, and then take the best countermeasures according to different negotiations and different situations.

895. Change course and attack the fortress

In "one-to-one" or "many-to-many" negotiations, the most suitable negotiation strategy is to attack the fortress.

When there are more than one negotiating opponents, it is only one of them who actually holds the final decision.Here, let's call this person the leader of the other side, and call the other negotiating lieutenants the team members of the other side.The leader of the other party is a figure that we need to pay special attention to in the negotiation, but the existence of the team members should not be ignored because of this.

Sometimes in a negotiation, no matter how hard you try, you still can’t convince the leader of the other party. In this case, you should shift the target and attack the team members, let them understand your proposition, and then rely on them to influence the other party summit.This process may be more difficult than ordinary negotiations, but no matter what you do, the most important thing is to persevere and make persistent efforts to achieve final success.

When the leader of the opponent cannot be persuaded, it is necessary to find another way and point the finger of attack at the opponent's team members.This is just like the siege of cities and land in ancient times. As long as the fortress outside the city is taken first, you can drive straight in.

To capture a city, one must first take down the fortress that has a protective effect on the city. In this way, it will be like entering the land of no one.In the same way, when you can't convince the opponent, you should change your course and try to shake the opponent's leader's position through the opponent's team members.

Obviously, the head of the other side has heard your argument more than once, and now, if they try to use the same words to lobby their team members, they will probably find it dull.Therefore, although the purpose is the same, it is necessary to pay special attention to the variability in the process of repeated explanations to avoid adverse effects.

It should also be noted that even if you have seriously persuaded the opponent's team members, this does not guarantee that the opponent's team members will persuade their leaders as seriously as you have persuaded them.If the opposing team members are unwilling to do this, even if you use all your strength, attacking the fortress tactics will not be effective.

896. Good at Changing Faces, Black or White

Once, billionaire Hughes wanted to buy a large number of planes. He planned to buy 34 of them, and he was determined to get eleven of them.At the beginning, Hughes personally went out to negotiate with the aircraft manufacturer, but the negotiation could not go on anyway. In the end, the rich man was furious and left in a huff.However, Hughes still did not give up, so he found an agent to help him continue the negotiation.Hughes told the agent that he would be satisfied as long as he could buy the eleven he liked the most. As a result of the negotiation, the agent actually bought all 34 aircraft.Hughes admired the agent's ability very much and asked him how he did it.The agent replied: "It's very simple. Every time the negotiation comes to an impasse, I will ask them whether they want to talk to me or invite you to come forward to talk. After I ask, the other party has no choice but to obey me obediently." done."

The tactics used above are "white face" and "black face". This tactic requires two negotiators, and it is not appropriate for two negotiators to attend the first round of negotiations together.If two people attend together, if one of them leaves a bad impression on the other, it will definitely affect his perception of the other, which will be very detrimental to the subsequent negotiations.

The first negotiator to appear is playing the black face, and his responsibility is to make the other party feel that "this person is not easy to mess with" and "it is really unlucky to meet this kind of negotiating opponent".The second negotiator played the role of a bad guy, that is, a peace messenger, which made the other party feel "relieved at last".In this way, the two appear alternately and take turns until the negotiation achieves its goal.

897. Adjust the agenda to gain an advantage

In the actual process of negotiation, no matter what kind of difficulties you encounter, you must sit at the negotiating table and continue to discuss until you get a better result.This is the case in many negotiations. Even if the negotiation fails to reach an agreement, and thus evolves into a worst-case scenario such as a slowdown or a strike, both parties must continue to work hard to find a reasonable solution.In short, even if the negotiations were suspended for a while, the two sides still need to return to the negotiating table.If you represent the management, then you may feel dissatisfied and unable to cope with the continuous raising of wage issues, medical issues, and even vacation issues by the employees.However, in order to keep the overall situation in mind, you must do whatever it takes to keep the negotiation going.

Sometimes, negotiating parties or one party will be eager to achieve some level of agreement.For example, if you want to buy some influential assets (companies, patents, land, famous paintings, antiques, etc.) Don't let the other person know your intentions.You can talk about him left and right, you can pretend to be indifferent, or you can talk about him.In short, if the other party perceives your intention of "extremely eager to buy", he will definitely try his best to deal with you and make it difficult for you to do so.

In general negotiations, when you want to change the topic, you should explain the reasons for changing the topic to the other party in advance, so as to obtain their understanding, and then accept your proposal without any objection.

If the other party intends to suspend the negotiation, it is impossible to allow you to adopt the technique of adjusting the topic at will, unless the topic is of great interest to him or is very important to the negotiation itself.Of course, if your negotiating counterparty is an inexperienced or unmotivated individual, that's a different story.In a negotiation, once the opponent retreats to the defensive line, you have taken a big step forward and gained an advantage.

898. Breaking the Deadlock and Seizing the First Opportunity

Breaking the deadlock also requires the use of certain strategies. Using strategies to break the deadlock is not only conducive to the smooth operation of the negotiation, but also may gain the initiative in the negotiation and seize the opportunity to obtain a favorable negotiation result.It is generally believed that the following strategies can be adopted when an impasse occurs in negotiations:
First of all, you must be calm-headed, and you must not speak impulsively to stimulate the other party. "A good word warms the winter three times, and a bad word hurts the June cold." Harsh words will form emotional confrontation, which is extremely harmful to breaking the deadlock.

Replace negotiating team members.Let go of members who might irritate the opponent.A very experienced negotiator will not be asked to leave because he may play a significant role in the bad guy's strategy.Now is the time to take the pressure off the other side, remove these people from your team, and make concessions.

Reframe the problem in a different way; provide new reasons, new information to explore a wider issue; find a bridge to bring some aspects of the requirements into agreement; talk about something light-hearted, or tell an entertaining story News, or tell an interesting story as a way to ease the tension.

Review past or future needs, and figure out the consequences of failure to reach an agreement together; establish a special working group by personnel from both parties; make recommendations with additional conditions; resort to power and suggest the use of a third party; thinking, seeking solutions.For your own side, it is best to give a detailed explanation of your plan before the adjournment, and ask the other party for further consideration during the adjournment.

Try to change the atmosphere in the negotiating room.If the win-win focus in a negotiation has been muted, try making it more competitive.If the negotiation has become difficult to control, try to open more win-win channels.

899. Apply pressure to make a deal

When negotiators sensed that he was being forced to make far more concessions than he could accept, he would declare that he was not empowered to make such an agreement.This is usually the "trump card" that negotiators show when they resist until the last moment.At this time, both parties knew very well that this move was to prevent the negotiation from breaking down.

However, the tactic can be dangerous if used in a straightforward manner.Because, in order to make the negotiation proceed smoothly, both parties are required to work together towards the expected direction at an appropriate speed, to exchange conditions, to be satisfied together, and to make concessions together.If one party does not have enough power, then new problems arise.

It is unfavorable for both parties if one party proposes "limited authority".It destroys and interferes with the speed and method of the other party's concessions, weakens the possibility of gaining benefits, and makes any negotiation more complicated.If one party really has "limited power", it will reduce the efficiency of negotiations.If one side deliberately adopts this strategy to fool the other side, it not only has many disadvantages, but this artificial obstacle is likely to be discovered and hurt itself.

After the goal, plan and progress of the negotiation have been clarified, the stage of showing cards is about to be completed, and the personality of the negotiators has been preliminarily grasped, you can first ask a question like this: "Do you have the power to make the final decision?"

After the negotiation enters the mid-term stage, if the power of the other party is indeed limited, then various influences should be exerted to strive for a deal within the scope of his power.The party with limited authority should use telephones, fax machines, and other facilities to get in touch with the boss to resolve problems caused by "limited authority."

900. Taking Retreat as Advance and Focusing on Long-term Benefits

Sometimes in the negotiation, there will be such a situation, the other side is indeed stronger than the own side, so they are aggressive and domineering in the negotiation.

At this time, the disadvantaged party will generally adopt two retreat strategies: one is to retreat blindly, be defeated, and eventually lead to complete failure.

The other kind of retreat is to advance by retreating, formally meeting the needs of the other party, actually protecting one's own basic interests, and even expanding one's own long-term interests.

In short, the following points should be paid attention to when using this technique:
(1) Leave room for bargaining for yourself.If you are a seller, bid higher; if you are a buyer, bid lower.But don't ask for the price indiscriminately, it must be within a reasonable range.

(2) Let the other party speak first, let him express all the requirements, and hide your own requirements first.

(3) Let the other party make concessions first on important issues, and you can also make concessions on smaller issues if you want.

(4) Let him strive for everything he can get, for people do not value things that are easily obtained.

(5) Don't make concessions too quickly, it is better to make concessions later.Because the longer he waits, the more he will cherish it.

(6) Don't make unnecessary concessions, every time you make a concession, you must get some benefits from the other party.

(7) Sometimes it is advisable to make some concessions that have no loss for you.

(8) If you can't get a big meal, get a sandwich; if you can't get a sandwich, at least get a promise.This promise is also a concession, albeit a discounted one.

(9) Don't take it lightly, remember that every concession contains your profit.

(10) Don't be shy about saying "no."Most people are afraid to say "no".In fact, if you've said it a few times, he'll believe you really said "no."So be patient and be consistent.

(11) DON'T BE CHILDREN.Even in the case of concessions, the overall favorable situation must always be maintained.

(12) If you want to go back on your word after making a concession, don't be embarrassed.Because that is not an agreement, and everything can be restarted.

(13) Don't make concessions too quickly or too much, and always pay attention to the number and degree of concessions made by your own party.

901. Wisdom is as foolish as it is to confuse the other party

(End of this chapter)