Key phrases in negotiations
Knowing the most commonly used phrases of the negotiation art will allow us to comfortably engage in conversations with professionals. In this article, I will overview four key phrases which will help you move straight to the work in the center with your negotiation consultant. The first most popular phrase is BATNA. This acronym unreels to Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement. Another words, BATNA is the option we are left with if our negotiations don’t end in an agreement. For example, if we plan to place an order for good X we might want turn to a big company with a good reputation. Due to its strong brand, such a company can state high demands in terms of financial expectations, which might not fit in our budget. If we do not manage to negotiate the desired terms (financially achievable), we can turn to a smaller company which deals with a similar good. This smaller company might have slightly lower quality of good, but will offer a satisfying price. Therefore, placing an order with the smaller company is our BATNA to the big company. There are usually many issues to settle on around a contract. For example, if we run a fruit juice production and are negotiating with our glass bottles supplier, there will be issues such as the frequency and size of deliveries, the total delivery order, price, liability payment period etc. – all of these are the negotiation areas – all the issues considered negotiable. Let’s note that some areas may not be so obvious to all sides. For example, the supplier may not foresee that the purchaser has reasons to discuss the subject of goods protection during transport and demand special measures to be taken. Each side has their interests. Let’s assume that the price per unit of a good is 72 USD. For the vendor, it is not profitable to drop the price any lower than 66 USD per unit. The purchaser can pay a maximum of 69 USD per unit. Therefore, the agreement will have to take place somewhere between 66 USD and 69 USD. This space is the ZOPA – Zone Of Possible Agreement in the area of price. The purchaser may use adequate negotiation techniques to bring the price down to the space of ZOPA. Considered we approach the negotiation table well prepared, we know exactly what we want and what we can agree to. This includes the maximum and/or minimum values, which are desirable for us in each of the negotiation areas. These values are the shore lines. Summary: BATNA – best alternative to negotiated agreement Areas – all issues considered negotiable ZOPA – zone of possible agreement Shore lines – maximum and/or minimum desired values in each area. With the above phrases in mind, we can begin to prepare for negotiations! NEGOTIATION ESSENTIALS What are negotiations? Key phrases in negotiations. The basic of basics in negotiations. Principles of negotiations. Goals in business negotiations. Stages of negotiations. The process of business negotiations. Trust in negotiations.
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