4.4 Developing Options for Negotiation

I have spoken extensively in this course about the importance of developing options and seeking creative combinations of the variables that could be added to the central issue of your negotiation. In this lecture, I shall discuss some of these options and how to go about using them in your negotiations. And you should be considering the interest, not the positions of the organizations or people involved. When you focus on positions, you tend to become focused on specific details or specific demands. Being made instead of finding the most advantageous solution to a problem or a means of fulfilling a need. Once you’ve fully researched your counterpart’s organization, the market conditions, the need to be met, the cost associated with it. It is the time to, this is the time to consider options that might make a proposal more attractive. Put yourself in your counterpart’s position. Try to think from his or her point of view and ask how could I fulfill this need in the most attractive manner possible? What does my counterpart most likely have in his or her framework agreement and which components can I easily provide? What can I add that either us, that is either a strength of my organization or a low cost add on that will make my po, proposal more appealing? You should also consider your position in terms of your counterpart’s BATNA. What do I need to offer to be a better alternative than my counterpart’s BATNA? And that is fair from my counterpart’s perspective. Think creatively as you analyze your options for price in terms of its relationship to volume, delivery, contract period, payment terms and specifications. Seek unique combinations that serve the needs and interests of both organizations. Then begin to seek additional options associated with each of these components. For example, volume, does it matter to your organization which version of a product is purchased in terms of volume cost savings? Are the red ones more expensive to produce than the blue ones? In the case of contract period, does the contract period need to be the same for all categories of union emp, union employees? Could the contractive length, period length be contingent upon the wage changes? What about delivery? Is their flexibility in the delivery timing or the location or packaging which might make a difference. In the service sector, instead of delivery, we might look at timing. Are there events, holidays, or times of year that might increase or decrease the value? There are so many possibilities. Consider each of the main negotiating points that I have mentioned. Price, volume, delivery terms and specifications in turn. For each, what are the various possibilities, and then, what creative combinations of possibilities can you create, which make an appealing proposal, that aligns with your smart goal? Of course, this assumes that you’ve chosen the path of pri, principle negotiation, and that you intend to achieve the greatest value for all parties in the negotiation. If you chose the path of win lose, or simply bargaining or bartering over a defined and unchanging amount or value,. Then none of this is necessary. However, the reality of most negotiated agreements is that they will need to be revised, renewed and updated over time. The better your relationship with your counterpart and the better your proposal, the more smoothly future interactions will go and the more likely you are to do business with each other, with the other organization again. Bartering, bargaining, and win-lose approaches to negotiation do not lead to positive long term relationships. In this lecture, I discuss the options and variables. For you to consider and creatively combine to create a proposal that comes as close as possible to both your and your counterpart’s framework agreements and maximizes the value of the agreement to both organizations.