A critical negotiation skill in your sales negotiations is how you go about preparing your objectives.
I would like to provide you with 3 key points that we cover in our negotiation skills training programmes to consider when you are getting ready for your negotiations.
1. What is the absolutely ideal result for you in this negotiation?
What would a absolutely wonderful transaction (one that you would be extremely happy to agree to) look like?
We call this your aspiration base - in other words, the level at which you will aspire to close the transaction.
You should remember that it is key in your negotiation to always ask for a little more than you would like to receive. This means that you must always have an aspiration base that is higher than your targeted outcome. By asking for a little more than you would like to achieve you allow yourself to make a concession to your counterpart in exchange for a counter concession.
On the positive side, you may just get what you regard to be fantastic if you ask for it! Don't fall into the trap of making decisions on behalf of your counterpart by saying to yourself they will not consider that .Take note that I am not proposing that you make extreme demands - extreme requests are very risky and dependent on the cultural environment within which you are negotiating.
2. What is the absolutely minimum acceptable outcome for you in this negotiation?
At what point will you decide to terminate or suspend your discussions?
If you do not decide on a specific stage at which it will no longer be feasible or attractive for you to conclude a deal, then you may become vulnerable to reaching an agreement that you will not be happy with. This is critical to do as you could easily become emotionally committed to closing a transaction at all cost because you may think that your individual reputation is at stake.
3. What do you think are the aspirations and minimum acceptable agreement levels for your counterpart?
It is also important that you think about the aspirations and minimum acceptable deal levels from your counterparts perspective. This will never be an exact science but through proper preparation and research of supporting information you may be able to get a good idea of what kind of agreement is the norm in your industry or type of negotiation.
By thinking about the aspirations and minimum acceptable agreement levels from your counterparts perspective, you will be able to identify the agreement range. Being aware of the bargaining range or zone of possible agreement (ZOPA) will help you to see if an agreement is possible or not.
Most negotiation training programmes will teach you that the agreement range is defined as the area of overlap between your minimum acceptable deal level and the minimum acceptable deal levels of your counterpart.
Remember that 99 percent of your success in negotiation is dependent on the quality of your preparation. You should spend at least as much time preparing for negotiations as you expect to be busy negotiating. If you expect to be in negotiations for a day, then you should spend at least the same time in preparations.