Basis, styles and structure of negotiation

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In the life of every person, negotiations play an important role. Every day people have to agree on something at work and at home. Negotiations are of great importance in the life of businessmen, since the success of an activity, and subsequently financial income, depends on such business communication.

However, it is not enough to meet a person and start a conversation with him. Experienced businessmen say that it is necessary to know the structure of business negotiations, their styles and other nuances. All this can help in those moments when there is a need to convince partners or agree to something.

Further in the article, the structure of negotiation will be considered in detail, their stages and functions will be described. In addition, the styles of negotiation and the nuances of business communication by phone and with partners from other countries will be classified.

Definition of the concept of "negotiations"

Before you begin to study the structure of negotiations, you need to understand what they are and what role they play in general. So, negotiations are business communication, which is aimed at reaching joint decisions on the issues under discussion. As a rule, negotiations meanis a communication of people who have a similar opinion and pursue the same goals.

The role of negotiation in business

It is necessary to distinguish such communication from those when partners completely agree with each other's beliefs or, conversely, are critical. Indeed, in the first case, this is already cooperation, and in the second - confrontation. The main goal of the negotiations is to find optimal solutions to the issue for both sides and to determine a joint plan of action.

As a rule, if the parties meet for this, they are interested in cooperation. Therefore, the role of negotiation is to develop a fruitful working relationship.

Negotiation structure

Every kind of negotiation assumes the same structure. Experienced businessmen try to build their conversation by following certain stages. This approach saves time and is aimed at successful communication. So, the negotiation structure includes four main stages:

1. Preparation.
2. Negotiating.
3. End negotiations.
4. Analysis of results.

Each of these stages is equally important in the process of business communication. It is important to note that the structure of the process of conducting international negotiations is absolutely similar to that given above. However, it is worth remembering that communication with partners from other countries also requires additional preparation, since there is a need to study the traditions, norms of communication and other details of those people with whom you will have to negotiate. It is worth considering each of them in more detail.way.

First stage: preparation

To a greater extent, the success of any business communication with partners depends on the quality of preparation for negotiations. Experts at this stage of the structure of business negotiations suggest using the following preparation model:

1. Determine the subject of negotiations. It is important to understand what will be discussed, because without this moment it is impossible to benefit from communication. According to experienced managers, the initiative always comes from someone who is more knowledgeable in the topic under discussion.
2. It is necessary to draw up an approximate program for the negotiations. A peculiar scenario will help to foresee the outcome of communication. There may be several scenarios depending on the complexity of the negotiations.
3. It is necessary to determine the moments in which it is possible to yield to partners, and those in which it is absolutely impossible to yield. At the same time, it is necessary to foresee what concessions in favor of the other side of the negotiations may entail.

This model is very versatile. However, it is impossible to implement such an action plan in preparation for business communication if the following questions have not been previously studied:

1. The purpose of the negotiations.
2. Partner (his position in the market, state of affairs, etc.).
3. Negotiated.
4. Persons present at the talks.
5. Conditions and possible conditions.

Many specialists can be involved in the preparation process, however, the person who will be directly involved in communicating with a partneris obliged to study every detail of the information that was previously collected. It is worth noting that it is the quality of preparation that determines the outcome of decision-making. For example, the first stage of a sales negotiation structure examines what will be offered to the client, the purpose of the meeting, the client's ability to pay, and other details that will allow you to promote the product and close the deal.

Second stage: negotiations

The negotiation structure includes the following methods of conducting in the second stage:

1. Variational method. It is built on the basis of the fact that the negative reaction of the partner to the conditions put forward is known in advance. Such negotiations can be called complex. Therefore, during the conversation, you should work to find the best solution to the issue with a differentiated approach.
2. Integration method. It is advisable to resort to this method when the partner is obsessed with his own interests, but does not take into account the nuances of social relationships. This method is aimed at convincing the other party of the expediency of estimating losses in case of neglecting social relationships. The main purpose of applying this method is to convince the partner that the responsibility for making decisions on the subject under discussion lies with all parties to the negotiations.
3. The balancing method. This method involves the selection of the best arguments to convince a partner. These can be facts, statistics, calculations, etc. It is important that when using this method, it is necessary to stand onpartner's place and evaluate the situation from his side. This allows you to choose the most correct argument at the right time.
4. Compromise method. This method implies that the partners are ready to seek compromises in advance, and in case of a divergence of views, consistently reach an agreement. The compromise method does not imply a rejection of the original conditions, it is aimed at considering the problem using all the possibilities. It is worth noting that the compromise method is used when the refusal to negotiate and the inability to conclude certain agreements threatens the two parties with adverse consequences.

Negotiation stages in the second stage

In general, the following stages of negotiations can be distinguished, which include the structure of negotiations at the second stage:

1. Meeting and making contact. Negotiations begin from the moment the meeting with the partner took place, even if he had to be accompanied from the airport and train station. This stage may not be so important from the point of view of the subject of negotiations, but depending on what impression the meeting party makes on their partner, the outcome of the negotiations will partly depend.
2. The beginning of the business part. At this stage, the partner's attention is drawn to the information and the subject of discussion.
3. Transmission of information. This stage involves convincing the other party that they will act wisely by accepting your beliefs.
4. Detailed justification. At this stage, the argumentation of one's own ideas and proposals takes place. OthersIn other words, if a partner is interested in proposals, but is not completely sure of anything, it is necessary to argue all of the above and eliminate all doubts.

Third stage: completion of negotiations

The final stage of the negotiation structure is a mandatory debriefing. If the course of business communication was very positive, then the completion of the negotiations implies a brief summary. This is necessary so that each of the parties is sure that everyone understands each other perfectly. After that, the prospect of new meetings is discussed.

Otherwise, when no agreements were reached as a result of the negotiations, it is important to maintain subjective contact with the partner. It is important to sum up what we managed to find common ground, and to say those points that do not suit one of the parties. At the end of a business meeting that has a negative outcome, it is important not to lose face and try to defuse the atmosphere with a casual and friendly farewell. But in no case should you speak rudely to your partner and abruptly interrupt the negotiations with your departure. It is worth remembering that it is better to offer to discuss the issue a little later, postpone the negotiations, prepare for them more carefully and try to find such arguments that would allow you to convince the other side of something.

Fourth stage: analysis of negotiations

Even if the parties said goodbye, negotiations are not completed at this stage. This happens only after their detailed analysis and preparation of a report. Generallyanalysis is necessary to compare the goals of business communication and the achieved result, determine further actions and assess the current situation. The review can be written (if the situation so requires) or reflective (if there is no need to report to higher management).

Understanding the structure of negotiations with clients and partners, it is much easier to build communication. However, in addition to this, it is necessary to know what styles of negotiations can be.

Styles

In general, there are such styles of negotiations as hard, soft, trade and cooperative. Hard style implies steadfastness and concentration only on one's own requirements. Soft is an accommodation strategy. Most often it is used when it is more important for one side to maintain friendly relations.

Trading style implies the principle of compromise, when one side makes concessions, but at the same time “bargains” certain concessions for itself. Collaborative style is communication that is geared towards meeting the interests of both parties.

Short set of negotiation rules

Experts in the field of business communication recommend adhering to the following set of rules that will help establish a common language with any partner:

1. You can not get personal and humiliate the partner's personality.
2. Don't ignore your partner's fears, statements and feelings.
3. You should not only ask questions, but also explain the purpose of getting answers to them.
4. Ifthe interlocutor wants to clarify something or asks to repeat what was said, do not get annoyed. We must try to convey information in a way that everyone can understand.
5. Don't get emotional.

In addition to this short summary, it is worth remembering that you should prepare well, analyze the structure of negotiations in advance and master the styles of conducting them. This will all help to cope with the task much better.

Rules of persuasion in negotiations

There are several tips from psychologists and experienced managers that can be useful in those moments when there is a need to convince a partner of something. First of all, you need to learn how to present arguments. First you need to make a strong argument, then a little weaker, and at the end put forward the strongest, so to speak, trump argument.

Secondly, you need to remember that you can not put the interlocutor in an uncomfortable position or drive into a corner. Respect is the key to a benevolent relationship, and you can convince of something only when a person is positive.

Thirdly, it is important that the proposed arguments intersect with the interests of the partner. In such a situation, there is a high probability that the partner will express their consent.

Telephone conversations

Sometimes you have to negotiate on technical means of communication. Of course, this makes communication a little more difficult, as it becomes harder to understand the interlocutor's reaction.

It is important to remember that the structure of telephone conversations is absolutelysame as for a personal business meeting:

1. Greeting.
2. Begin negotiations.
3. Finishing.
4. Analysis.

Generally accepted rules of negotiation apply to business conversations over the phone. The only thing that is important to remember is that you cannot interrupt a person’s speech on the phone, even if his words contradict something.

Conclusion

Summarizing, it is worth noting that negotiation is an art, having mastered it, you can achieve anything. As it became known, knowing the 4 stages of the structure of negotiations, you can predict the outcome of business communication and provide for many steps of the partner.

The most important thing to achieve good results through negotiations is to follow the above rules and respect those with whom you have to negotiate anything.