Practical Negotiating: Tools, Tactics & Techniques

General Guidelines

The same dynamics occur in a negotiation team as in any team performing a common task. There must be clarity and alignment on:

1. Negotiation goals and objectives.

2. Team roles and responsibilities.

3. Procedures and methods.

4. Relationships and negotiating styles.

Lack of alignment can create a nightmare for a negotiation team. Think about a time when you and your spouse disagreed on an issue one of your children wanted to negotiate. Or consider the sales manager who arrives in the negotiation and offers a key currency that the account executive has refused to concede. Working on a team to plan the negotiation, requires additional time to gain alignment on these key areas. Usually, the rule on planning for a team negotiation is: Planning time increases exponentially with the size of the team.