Negotiation checklist

Often times we think we are good improvisers. We don't like to waste our time on the things we consider "useless". We think we can achieve any goal simply "trying".

The truth is, the lack of preparation is the preparation of our defeat.

As our textbook states "Preparation increases your chance of success, whether in combat, sports, or negotiations." It doesn't matter if you want to buy a new car, rent a hotel room for 10 people, beg for money from a Business Angel or simply tell your wife, you want to spend your vacations in the mountains instead of going to the beach - you NEED to prepare yourself, or lose*.

One of the best things to try is write down your preparation checklist. We have had this already in our class and I ensure you, this works!

In such a list you should focus on four important subjects:

Yourself

What is your overall goal? What are the issues? How important is each issue to you? Develop a scoring system for evaluating offers to make sure that your negotiation haven't reached your BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement - in other words, best alternative to the offer you are negotiating right now). Before the negotiations, create 3 to 5 possible result situations. Set your resistance point ("the worst agreement you are willing to accept before ending negotiations"). This is only the beginning, but it seems to be the most important part.

Other side

Now, do the same preparation, but imagine you are the other side. This should lead you to the one question: "What is your target?" Having this done, you'll be sure that your aspirations won't be too high and that your agreement will be more realistic. This will give you some information of ZOPA (Zone of possible agreement) and you will have more time, during the negotiations, to ask, active listen, and learn.

The situation

Does the deadline exist? Who is more impatient? People, who have less time for negotiations, tend to reach the agreement as soon as possible, no matter the cost. Always try to have some more time, so you don't rush. Also, prepare yourself for the topics or questions you want to avoid. Memorize your answers so the other side doesn't think you're lying. And never lie.

Relationship between you and the other side

If you believe, or are sure that you'll have more negotiations in the future, make sure to be honest, trustworthy and try to create a bond. Know the other party and use this knowledge to negotiate better.

The question is, does anyone do this? To be honest, I'm preparing myself for the job offer negotiation when I come back to Poland. I give myself plenty of time, so I don't make any mistakes. I feel like it is my little project which I have to manage and almost all the information I'm finding in this textbook seem to be very helpful. Personally, I think that this type of preparation (checklist) should be involved in every negotiation. It gives you some strengths: calms you down, score system tells you if everything goes well, you can write some notes down that may confuse other party, it's your personal memo pad which will let you summarize your agreement easier, and you can use it to be more confident. Weaknesses? It takes some time to complete your checklist.

The good thing is - the better done, the better outcome.

Right now, I'm preparing myself a template I can use in the future to write down most of the information I care about during negotiations. Such a checklist is very personal and right now I have realized I'm making lots of notes. Having this in mind will let me be more successful as a negotiator. The key for that is to understand yourself first.

* Sometimes this may just mean losing some of your bargaining surplus.