5 pitfalls to be avoided in future negotiations

The Negotiator more annoying, bad, grumpy and stingy in creating lies between the two ears.

Is that you, and of course I am, too.

We are our worst enemies in a negotiation, because we fall into five traps:

(1) We remain in our heads, instead of seeing the world from the standpoint of our party. As demonstrated by the "Best Practices in Negotiation" class I teach at the University of California Berkeley Extension and elsewhere, find the options and opinions of the other party pays well.

(2) we can not set goals before entering a negotiation. Fred had his eye on a new grand piano, and after doing his research has boiled his choices to two: a Suzuki and Yamaha. He called and visited a lot of Yamaha dealers, but they were reluctant to discount the model he wanted. Suzuki reported a tool end as well, was not in the same class, but Fred was willing to accept it, especially because it is priced out 20 percent less than its rival. Still not convinced that he wanted Suzuki, Fred came across one day sale at Costco Yamaha, and noting the price was discounted by about two thousand dollars from what they had seen at retailers, immediately bought the model you wanted.

What does this have to do with negotiation? Fred had them throw in free delivery and set-up, but other than that, he simply accepted as the price offered. Yet, he negotiated with them the conditions that wanted more. He wanted a Yamaha to a slightly higher price for a Suzuki, and when he found that deal, in fact, caught him. He had already established their relative values, but more significantly, had decided their values ​​to him. Some retail prices, ie, "sale" prices are great and be ready to rip them when they come is what the negotiators are smart.

(3) We are impatient. Instead of starting with the presumption that "No agreement is better than a bad", it supports the concept that "Some agreement is better than nothing." Be willing to walk, and determine what your walk-away price, in advance.

(4) we do not like to negotiate, believing it is "beneath us." This is a recipe for failure, because in many cultures is promoted negotiation and perfectly normal, and in some it seems an insult not to be willing to bargain, at least a little. '

(5) We give the prices of other persons as fair, objective and scientifically derived. The price is more an art than a science, and most of the prices on the wrong side of packaging profit too, rather than too little. So, there is "water" in most prices, and our job as negotiators intelligent is to wash out.

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