The Negotiation Book: Your Definitive Guide To Successful Negotiating

2.4. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO NEGOTIATE A DEAL?

Capitalism and market pressures motivate and manipulate people to operate in the ways that they do. For example, account managers frequently become frustrated when trying to build relationships with buyers who they perceive to have more power within the relationship. The buyer (and this often works both ways) will negotiate competitively to drive every last penny of value out of the deal. As a result the buyer can become so focused on one issue that they are prepared to forfeit any other benefits whilst in the pursuit of the best price. Meanwhile, the account manager, desperate to build value through a range of variables (payment terms, volume, quality, delivery and other offerings), tries to progress conversations on a collaborative basis resulting in proposals which are ignored.

So what is the answer? There is no one answer. How you negotiate will nearly always depend on the specific circumstances you face. This is why, to understand negotiation, you first need a basis for differentiating the many ways in which negotiation can and does take place (the Negotiation Clock Face). The above situation however is certainly manageable. Escalation to a higher authority, introducing more items onto the agenda, conditional movement from your position or even introducing time constraints could offer a start.

When asked to describe their preferred negotiation style, many negotiators will openly talk about how they get the best ...