Let us review some questions that as a negotiator you can face while conducting a negotiation and the considerations to find answers to these questions:
- Framing the opening conversation: A tough opening position sets a firm tone and the counterpart probably will have to make deep concessions to win an agreement. It is a take-it-or-leave-it approach. You can adopt this when you are sure that the other party needs to close a deal with you. The pitfall of this approach is that the other party may reject your position if he has good alternatives.
- Getting better information and setting the tone: Negotiations commence with exchange of pleasantries. At some point of time one has to make the first offer. The significance of the first offer stems from two reasons - it gives a lot of information to the other party to size your offer against his own target; the other party can adjust his own opening offer to be more or less extreme than planned. It makes sense to let the other party make the first offer if you are unfamiliar with the negotiating.
- Concessions: Concessions are trade-offs that a party is willing to make, usually with the expectation that the other side will respond kindly and in the same degree. Figure is an example of this. However, price is not the only issue in most negotiations. Several issues may be involved. Very competitive negotiators tend to negotiate one issue at a time by pushing for the best deal in that issue and only then move to the next. More talented and cooperative negotiators seek to package issues together, because in the end, it is the whole deal that is important and not the best deal on each issue. This is called „packaging the concessions?. Concessions affect both tangible and intangible outcomes - the intangible outcomes being reputation and esteem. Even if you are winning the overall negotiation, it is easier to maintain your reputation and image if you manage to give the other party some wins to go with, which gives him the feel-good factor.