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ResourcesAwarenessIt's easy to miss something you're not looking for. Most people are unaware of the central part negotiation plays in their lives and how much better life could be, if only they could negotiate better. Test your awareness.ToolsSome people never question the negotiating capability of their people and organisations, others like those reading this clearly do. We offer some tools to assess the competence of your people and test your own skills.InsightWe've got lots to say. With over 35 years experience, 31 offices around the World and over 150 experienced and seasoned negotiators directing their effort toward the subject you would be right in thinking that when it comes to negotiation we have plenty to say.Below are a selection of our thoughts and tips designed to help guide you through the complex and at first sight, chaotic world of negotiation. Click on the links to download the full articles in PDF format. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it free by clicking here. Soddom and GomorrahGenesis Chapter 18 might be an unusual source to derive some interesting negotiating techniques, but as they say in showbiz ‘the old ones are the best’. Read more.... What is that smell in the room?
There are two unpleasant smells negotiators need to avoid. One is fear (your own) and the other is excessive testosterone wafting from the other side of the table. A colleague has called this "negotiating with an 800 pound gorilla". In negotiating terms there is an apparent power imbalance and guess who is the weaker party? Why is it always me I can hear you cry? Why am I not the one swinging through vines beating my chest and striking fear into the hearts of others? The Rena, "Make us an offer" says NZ GovernmentWho can have missed the still unfolding situation around the container ship, Rena, which ran aground on the Astrolabe reef off the Tauranga coast, and is proceeding to spill containers and hundreds of tonnes of heavy oil into the ocean. One report quoted anticipated clean up costs to be somewhere in the “10’s of millions of dollars” and Steven Joyce on behalf of the NZ Government saying they’d be seeking compensation from the ships operators and owners. Quite right we might say. But how have they managed this grievance? Not well so far with their "make us an offer" approach. The behaviours are classic and give us opportunity to reflect on how to deal with grievances. Read more.... How to get information from people when they're reticent to give itDuring a negotiation, there often arise cases where we’d really like to get the other side to give us information that they really don’t want to give to us. If only there was some way to test the other side’s willingness to settle with us. Such a tactic does exist. Read more.... Why adidas was right (from a negotiating perspective)Should you "Elk steak" when told your price is too high? Clearly if there's a logic and a rationale to your pricing which stands up to scrutiny, the answer should be an emphatic "NO". We examine why we believe adidas did a good job from a negotiating perspective, managing the "storm in a tea cup" over the price of All Blacks RWC jerseys. Read more.... But I live in a first floor flat!
The ability to listen carefully and properly is a key skill for negotiators. It enables them to understand needs and ensure that their proposals address these realistically. It can also help save a lot of time and frustration. Ann Parr gives a lovely example as to why. Read more.... How much?I heard a story the other day that illustrated an important negotiation point, one that I think we often miss to our cost. If you are selling your expertise/brand recognise that it has a value. If you are selling your time only, you need to find a way of valuing it in terms of it’s worth. Otherwise I am afraid you are probably in a race to the bottom. Read more.... How to deal with deadlock - The US debt crisisStandard & Poors recently downgraded the credit rating of the United States of America. This is not some small company that can’t pay its bills on time, or a dodgy tenant that won’t pay their rent when its due… This is a superpower – the financial hub of the global markets. Why did this happen? Because those responsible were more interested in trying to win an argument than negotiate a solution. Competent negotiators know how to handle deadlock effectively. Read more.... How often do we miss the point? - inattention blindness"They can't see the wood for the trees", a commonly used term to describe inattention blindness, something many negotiators suffer from. We examine a classic example of inattention blindness and its catastrophic consequences and more importantly how we can avoid this in our negotiations. Read more.... To walk or not to walk?
Many people struggle with the concept of the “bottom line”. Negotiators do not really like the idea of the bottom line: some are tempted not to think about it at all; others identify a walk away position which, in the cold light of day, is not really a walk away position at all – a deal could still be done; still more are told what the walk away position is by their boss. The "Golden Rule" of negotiators?It's amazing how many people think they can negotiate well, when really?.....we share a classic example. Read more.... Surprises and street partiesNegotiators are frequently faced with surprise situations deliberately engineered by the other side in order to shock. Buyers who are ultra-aggressive in their negotiating style. Unions which call ballots for strike action just when the issues seem close to resolution. The addition of new demands which look to destroy an almost completed deal. Why? Because faced with these ‘shocks’ the other side often back off or modify their aspirations and a deal is struck. Read more.... Why global warming is a hoax and Aristotle was wrong
“Global warming is a hoax”. That is what the presidential hopeful for the Republicans Michele Bachman says. Bachman is the new darling of the Tea Party Movement in the US and is a headline-grabbing brunette in the Sarah Palin mold. Why "Mr Nice Guy" is a deal breakerWe often witness people give "goodwill gestures". Whilst many people are often shocked by the result, unfortunately, as negotiators we can predict with more than a degree of certainty what will happen. Without exception the rewarded party having received something for nothing as if by reflex asks for more. This creates a number of problems for the party who has given the goodwill gesture or concession. Read more.... Why 80% of money spent on skills training is wasted
John McMillan the Founder and Managing Partner of Scotwork recently stunned two New Zealand audiences that comprised of CEO’s, Government Ministers and senior officials telling them that he believed over 80% of the money organisations invested in negotiating skills training was wasted and literally “poured down the drain”. Why? Because often the client is looking for a “quick fix” to a particular problem and they see training as a “Band Aid” when what they and their organisations really need is brain surgery! Like men....only cheaperHere we are in 2010 and the average weekly wage for women working full time is still 18% less than it is for men. Why? Could it be that women simply "give away" their effort without asking for anything in return? Read more.... Negotiating your way in a changing business landscapeIt's not news that the environment in which we do business - and in which we negotiate our business goals - is changing. Organisations are increasingly complex. Outsourcing is common, supplier and customer relationships are blurring as they evolve. The competitive landscape that we work in is shifting too; industry boundaries are changing at an ever increasing rate. Trade is global; information is abundant and ubiquitous. Negotiation has always mattered, but now it matters even more. Read more.... 127 hours and the importance of a "walk away position"Very few of us plan to cut our own arm off, eat a friend or walk away from our largest customer, but for negotiators defining their Must Achieve or Must Avoid position is critical. In business you have to contemplate and define the action you would take in extremis. You hope never to find yourself in that situation, but simply thinking it through reduces the fear factor. Read more.... Is it time to persuade or negotiate?
Somebody once said that the definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. Everyone laughs (a bit nervously) when they hear that because we all know that it is true and that we are culprits - we're all a little bit stupid if you will. Buying a car? Maybe you need to walk awayAfter your house, the most significant purchase that most people will make will be their car. For some reason, buying a car sends a shiver of apprehension up a lot of people’s spines – many people are embarrassed by the whole “haggling thing". They've seen the TV programmes where you are advised to go in tough and beat the poor salesperson into the ground, but they don't feel comfortable with that approach. We offer some tips to help you get a better deal. Read more.... Curiosity kills the spatOne mistake often made by inexperienced negotiators is that they ask questions designed to ‘win’ the argument by pushing the other party into errors of admission. This works well in TV dramas, but is less successful in the real world. Read more.... When to close the deal!Negotiators ignore the final stages of a negotiation at their peril. Late and sometimes expensive concessions go straight to the bottom line and will have an adverse effect on the profitability of your final agreement. It's at this stage you're most at risk from "Deal Creep". Read more.... Use threats or sanctions with careUsing a sanction or threatening the other side can, of course, be a dangerous game in negotiations. Sometimes, the veiled threat can work wonders, but on other occasions it can cause the other side to dig in and become intransigent. We look at a few examples of sanction behaviour; some have worked – but some haven’t. Read more.... The Big Bang (or when an airlines reputation goes south!)With the number of wage disputes here in NZ rising and increasing levels of industrial action including strikes, we reflect of some lessons from the recent round of industrial disputes in the UK and look at some of the lessons to be learned. Read more.... Five days that changed BritainNew Zealands MMP electoral system virtually guarantees our political parties will have to negotiate with each other following each and every election. Britain has just gone through a similar process. The BBC recently provided an in depth analysis of how good (or not!) the political parties managed the process. Are our lot any better? Read more.... Don't put your foot in it - put their words in your mouth!We have all put our foot in our mouth at some point in our lives, and it never tastes good! Keith Stacey explores the idea that listening is far more than just hearing. This tip will put their words in your mouth and may help you become a better negotiator. Read more.... Who should propose first? The negotiators dilemma.Stephen White, Managing Partner of Scotwork UK, addresses the dilemma many negotiators face every day: Who should propose first? Read more.... Can you afford to walk away....or not?As consultants we regularly talk to people on either side of the same negotiation and we often notice that both sides view their position as uniquely negative or disadvantaged. The conclusion being that generally there is scope in most negotiations for us to feel more positive than we currently do and more hopeful than we have previously been; perhaps we have more power than we have to date assumed? Mike Freedman discusses how sometimes walking away is the best thing to do. Read more.... Clock watchers no moreTVNZ slashes it's commissions to Advertising Agencies - shock, horror!! You can only resist change for so long before it becomes inevitable. The problem then becomes how do we manage that change? After years of resisting and avoiding changes in the way they are rewarded, the advertising industry is now having to face up to the change which is now upon them. This article from the Economist highlights changes that not only the advertising industry but many other "professional services" organisations are going to have to deal with sometime soon - payment by results. How are they going to do this? Through negotiation! See the opportunity, not the "problem". Scotwork can help, contact us now. "If you are in control, you are not going fast enough" - Stay in the driving seat in your negotiations to get better results.UK Partner Andrew Farquar draws some parallels between racing driving and negotiating. Read and then tell us - are you in control? It's not fairAlan Smith, Scotwork International But does this matter? What part does fairness play in negotiations? When it comes to negotiating in long term relationships we think fairness, or indeed perceived fairness, plays a big part in the value of the ongoing deal. Why should that be? Read more.... Negotiating in a recessionJohn McMillan, Founding Partner, Scotwork International. Read the papers and listen to the news and you will be in little doubt that for many companies tough times lie ahead. What should you do? See what happens? Hope for the best? We don't think so. John gives us 8 tips to make sure you and your organisation not only survive but thrive in the current economic environment. Read more.... Negotiation Vs Haggling - How to increase your sales through negotiationAdam Sands, Principal Consultant, Scotwork NZ. Many sales people mistakenly believe that negotiation is all about persuading the other party to buy what they're selling. If this fails they concede on price to get the order. When they say they're "Negotiating" they really mean haggling. Haggling is not negotiating. Haggling is offering your product or service at a lower margin until the other side says "Yes". Adam Sands gives some tips to ensure you do better than this! Read more....Dealing with difficult peopleAlan Smith, Associate Director, Scotwork International. One of the questions we often get asked is "How do I negotiate when the other side are aggressive, rude or just nasty?" We have 4 key tips that will help when the going gets tough. Read the full article. Negotiating reading listWant a good book on negotiation? Save hours loitering in the book shop and check out our suggested reading list. Need to top up your skills?If having read some of the articles above you feel the need to sharpen up your negotiation skills, why not attend the worlds leading negotiation skills course? Booking is easy, simply click this link to go to our on line booking system. If you've already been on one of our world beating Negotiation skills courses, but it's been a while since your training, you may wish to refresh your skills on our one day follow up programme. If you want to improve your skills even more then why not consider attending Scotwork Skills Builder - the new development programme designed to assist you double your current returns on investment. If you want to take your skills to the next, more strategic level then we suggest you attended our Next Steps programme. For those of you yet to go through any of our training programmes, read what past participants say about them. Other thoughts and tipsThe articles below have IP restrictions on them. To read them you need to sign up for a viewing account. This costs nothing and we promise not to spam you or harass you in any way or form.5 Reasons your kids might be better negotiators than you Or How to get better deals by negotiating more like a 6 year old
Simon Letchford, CEO, Scotwork Australia. Negotiate your salary,tips to make a better job of itKeith Stacey, Matt Lohmeyer and Mark Spatz, Scotwork Australia If you are like many of our participants, you'll probably agree that your worst negotiating nightmare is not managing a commercial deal, but negotiating your own salary! Want to know why? We've canvassed the Scotwork Australia team to explore common traps in salary negotiations and to suggest some practical steps to help you get a better deal in your next performance and pay review. Click to sign up and read the full article. Haven't found what you were looking for?If you have an issue you would like us to cover, let us know via the Contact page or email us at info@scotwork.co.nz, and we'll take a view. Whatever, we'd be glad to hear from you. |
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