Negotiation Probes
Your negotiating leverage is determined by how much you know about the other party’s attitudes, preferences and position. This is true whether you are selling something, buying something, or dealing with a project, manufacturing plan, delivery schedule, a budget, or any of a hundred other situations where you are trying to resolve differences.
These encounters are all negotiations and you should approach them as such. Negotiation Probes are valuable - if you discipline yourself to use them.
It is just not possible for you to get as much information as you probably would like to have. There is not enough time or resources. But you should probe for answers to six essential questions PRIOR TO NEGOTIATING. If you can gain insight into these questions, you will be in a much better position to negotiate.
1. What specific objections to my position could the other party have? (Use others in your organization as ‘Devil Advocates’ to help reveal different points of view.)
Scrambled Eggs: How to Defend Against Disorder
It is wiser to simplify matters than to confuse them. “Scrambled eggs” does the opposite. Scrambling is a negotiation technique, it deliberately mixes things up for tactical reasons. Scrambling can be used to forestall a deadlock, make the other person work harder, force through a last-minute demand, or retreat from a prior concession. Sometimes it is used to determine how well the other person keeps his or her wits under pressure.
Negotiations should be conducted in an orderly fashion. The scrambler knows that disorder can also work.
The scrambler takes advantage of the negotiating mistakes people make when they are confused. Suddenly apples can’t be compared to apples, and cost comparisons become impossible to make.
It takes self-confidence to stop a scrambler. These steps help:
1. Have the courage to say, “I don’t understand.”
2. Keep saying “I don’t understand” until you do.
3. Insist that matters be discussed one at a time.
From the Donor’s Perspective: Why Some Fundraisers Succeed While Others Fail
In order to get their valuable perspectives on fundraising, I interviewed more than 30 donors of the highest caliber who have given millions and millions of dollars to various charities, ministries, and organizations. I asked them why some fundraisers succeed while others fail.
These are the qualities and characteristics the donors felt made successful fundraisers:
* Sincere relationship — Above all, successful fundraisers are sincere.
* Personal integrity — Successful fundraisers are upfront, genuine, and always operate with integrity.
* Knowledge of their charity — Successful fundraisers are well informed.
* Clearly defined goals — Successful fundraisers clearly state the mission, needs, and opportunity a donor has to help accomplish the mission.
* Regular communication — Successful fundraisers keep donors in the loop.
* Assurance of cost effectiveness — Successful fundraisers show donors that their money is doing what was promised.
* Credibility — Successful fundraisers use donors’ funds for the intended purpose only.
* Matching gifts — Successful fundraisers think about lead gifts or matching gifts so donors’ gifts are multiplied.
From the Donor’s Perspective: What Every Fundraiser Should Know
Among other things, donors need to believe in the cause they choose to support. They need to have answers, feedback, and understanding along the way. They want to play an important part in their cause, and they want assurance that their gifts are being used effectively and efficiently. And, of course, they need to be treated with kindness and respect — to be thanked and appreciated.
The most successful fundraisers are the ones who help donors fulfill their vision for what they feel God has directed them to do with their money. Donors are stewards, and your job as a fundraiser is to help them fulfill their stewardship role. To do this successfully it is invaluable to learn from donors themselves what they believe every fundraiser should know:
About relationships
* Think of your donors as a trust from God.
* Help your donors realize God’s plan for their lives (not just for their money!).
* Help donors to find fulfillment in their giving.
* Cultivate relationships before seeking funds.
* Make only one request per year for funds.
* Learn the passion of the prospective donor.
The Art of Public Speaking: the Charisma Formula
It’s not surprising that if you’ve ever attended a presentation held by a brilliant presenter to feel a kind of charm and magnetism in the conference room. This is not magic at all, but a set of techniques used by the presenter to impact his audience. These skills are not hidden or whatsoever, but rarely used by people. The reason why I’m writing this is to share some of these skills and how you can use them to a maximum impact.
-The first thing to focus on is your entrance. This is the most important stage within your presentation and the most remembered one as you give them a first impression about you, so it should be very strong and impressive one.
-Your stance is the second most important one. Stand tall with a straight back; keep your shoulders level and relaxed.
Negotiating With Emotions
Emotions play a powerful role in negotiating because people find it difficult to tolerate unexpected outbursts. When the other party lets loose, we find it hard to cope.
Some people try to get their own way by yelling, screaming, and being generally belligerent. They know from experience that most people find such negotiating tactics uncomfortable to cope with. Their plan is to intimidate the other party into submission. The victim cringes at the thought of having to deal with an obnoxious character—so he or she gives in.
When people are emotional they don’t think clearly. Experiments confirm that people distort reality, don’t listen, and pick up only those inputs most in-tune with their emotional wants.
You may need to call a recess—or change negotiators.
Negotiating Threats
Have you ever been threatened during a negotiation? You probably have received more negotiating threats than you realize. Most often negotiating threats are not of a violent nature during a negotiation. They come in the form of an “or else.”
“Get this to me by Thursday or else I’ll be forced to work with someone else.” “I need to get the contract signed today or else you’ll be last in line for shipment.” “Drop your price by 5% or else I will go with your competitor.”
Negotiation, by its very nature, involves a degree of threat. Rewards can be withheld or punishment inflicted by a deadlock. Deadlock constitutes an ever-present threat.
During the course of a negotiation you may be tempted to make a threat, or probably more likely, you’ll receive a threat. Look at it this way. Negotiating threats are a form of concession. In effect, the threat says, “If you stop doing what you are doing, I will concede by waiving my power to punish you.” A threat puts the burden of proper action on the person being threatened. The other person suddenly become the master of their own fate.
Resist Like Water
The Chinese have a saying, “It is well to resist like water.” When water is put under pressure or suddenly made to flow into unfamiliar channels, it falls back. Then, in its own good time, it seeps and creeps back into position, first slowly and then with greater strength reaching its level.
In the face of strong opposition, a negotiator is wise to resist like water; fall back, listen, think, and move forward slowly.
Invest the time to understand the position that is being taken and evaluate ways you can effectively modify the other party’s stated expectations. Create alternatives that can be introduced into the negotiation and determine where your best opportunity for success lies.
Keep Negotiating Tactics Flexible
There is no right negotiating tactic if you have the wrong strategy or policy. Strategic objectives and priorities are more important than tactics. Yet history is full of great strategies that were defeated by poor negotiating tactics. The two go together but are not the same.
Flexibility in the choice of your negotiating tactics is imperative. Tactics that are right for one person are wrong for another. Tactics that are appropriate at the start of a negotiation may prove counter productive later. Tactics that worked yesterday may not work as well with the same person tomorrow. Negotiating tactics that worked well in a buyers’ market may prove to be stupid in a period of short supply.
Continual reassessment is the key to good tactical planning. I ask myself these questions over and over again in every negotiation:
1. Can I combine tactics for better effect?
2. Is this a good time to change tactics?
3. How will the other party react or interpret my tactic?