Gavin Presman

classic negotiation books, Getting to Yes.

How much trust do you think is built when you tell someone your original price was inflated? That you weren’t really telling the truth when you told them the original price?

Before you bargain with anyone, carefully analyse the situation you have in front of yourself. Understand your own position clearly, and imagine the other parties’ position too. Also, spend time discussing your assumptions with the other parties, so you can work in partnership to create an agreement that works for all.

The first step is to prepare mentally: thinking through what outcome you want from the deal and how you can collaborate with the other party to achieve it. Second, you can begin to prepare a list of what you may be able to offer in any bargaining scenario. Third, you step into your partner’s shoes and prepare from their perspective. These three steps together ensure that you enter any discussion well prepared. Following this, you sit down to have a discussion with the other party (step four), giving you sufficient information to prepare a proposal (step five) that will enable you to bargain (step six) and finally to agree a mutually beneficial outcome (step seven).

There are a few things to consider before you enter your negotiation preparation.
Are you equal parties who are ready to negotiate?
Do you want to make an agreement with the other party?
Do they want to make an agreement with you?
Are you expecting to create long-term value for the other person from this agreement or subsequent agreements?
Are you mentally prepared to structure the negotiation in such a way that it will produce a collaborative outcome?

three things that we should always do before negotiating. First, make sure both parties want to do a deal. Second, let them know that you know that. Third, think and act like you want to do best by the other party.

It’s important to make sure you have completed the sales process before you begin to negotiate.

How that looks in practice will depend on the agreement you are discussing, but in most cases it will involve the other party agreeing that they want to make a deal. Here’s what it might look like in a few standard negotiation scenarios:
The estate agent will ask: ‘Are you sure that this is the right house for you – before we start to speak to the seller about the details?’
The car dealer will ask, ‘Are you happy that this car is right for your family?’, before he talks about a package.

Ask yourself: ‘What could I do now to get my negotiation partner to openly acknowledge that we are both working positively towards a solution?’ What phrase would you use, whether in person, on the phone or by email, to get them to state that?

Having a collaborative attitude is key to this system, as anything else will lead to short-term gain and potential mistrust and will waste time and resources.