ABCN (AnyBody Can Negotiate)

ABCN ( AnyBody Can Negotiate) was the theme of my talk at the Annual Conference of MasterCard’s 70+ member APAC Legal, Franchise & Integrity (LFI) team, at the W Hotel Sentosa on 26 June 2019.

“In business, as in life, you don't get what you deserve - you get what you Negotiate” – Dr. Chester Karass

Weaving in several practical examples including my own Negotiation war-stories, I shared 8 key tips for one to be a successful negotiator. I picked these top tips from among many more that I share during my 2 day Negotiation Skills training workshops, based on the work exigencies shared with me previously during my meetings with different members of this LFI team. Very briefly, the 8 tips are:

 1.      Prepare, prepare, prepare ….

• Use tools like the 'Seven Elements worksheet' to document your findings and for sharing with & getting approval of internal stakeholders. Keep updating it as you find new information. during the negotiations.
• Focus on all 3 dimensions: People, Problem & Process, for your side & the other side (see photo below for some details)
• Collaborate with your colleagues from other depts. to understand their needs, get their point of view and thus enhance robustness of preparation
• Cultural nuances should be an essential part of your research. This is often missed out. At the same time, it is key to avoid the common risk of stereotyping our conterpart (e.g. Japanese are diligent, Italians are expressive) based on studying up his or her culture. 

2.      Aim high - Initial offer to focus on your target terms, not on your walk-away

• Protect against ‘anchoring’ by the other party

3.      Understand VALUE to the other party before making or responding to an offer

• Don’t over-focus on your pressures & deadlines
• Look beyond their expressed position to uncover their underlying interests. Else lot of value will be left on the table.

4.      Don’t just "give" concessions – TRADE them i.e. plan your concession strategy

• Record offers & counter-offers
• Use ‘If…then…’ framework. Remember to use the Parking lot and TACOW (tentative agreements contingent on the whole)
• Don’t let deadlines pressure you to make too many concessions (easier said than done....proper preparation can help mitigate this risk)
• The ability to walk away is a most powerful strategy in your negotiation toolkit. Negotiators who are in the position of needing a deal at any cost are like 'fresh meat in a shark tank'. Although it may be more beneficial to achieve a successful outcome in the current negotiation, you'll gain confidence when you know that you have researched viable alternatives and have a strong BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) which you continue to keep alive.

5. Avoid making ultimatums and learn how to defuse counter-party ultimatums

• Remember 'Ultimatums are like hand grenades – once you pull the pin, there’s no reversing without detonating your credibility'
• Like William Ury (& before him Sun Tzu) advised - Build them a golden bridge - make it easier for them to back down and help them save ‘face’ [保全面子 ]

6. Verify your assumptions as soon as is possible rather than implicitly trust them; certainly take care not to fall in love with them. Many negotiators are guilty of falling prey to their biases and being prisoners of their assumptions, instead of staying curious (see tip 8 about asking good questions) and being open to discovering possibilities.

7. Break the addiction to hearing YES, Embrace NO as a tactic

• As Christopher Voss advises "There are three kinds of yeses. There's commitment, confirmation, and counterfeit. People are most used to giving the counterfeit yes because they've been trapped by the confirmation yes so many times. So the way you master no is understanding what really happens when somebody says 'no.' When yes implies commitment, no offers protection"
• Though “yes” is the final goal of a negotiation, don’t aim for it at the start. Mastering the timing of intentionally triggering a NO is magic

8.      Ask good questions, then Shut up, Listen & Demonstrate empathy

• Different kinds of questions (closed questions, open-ended questions, leading questions, sequential questions etc.) are appropriate for different situations
• Questions can be nonverbal as well - a raised eyebrow, a nod to say more, or simply letting there be a bit of silence, are all signals to the other person to keep going
• Be aware if your body language matches your words or not. Likewise for the other party. “People may hear your words but they feel your body language”- John C Maxwell
• Non-face-to-face negotiations (e-mails, phone calls, text messages etc....) are more nuanced since you can’t observe body language (which is a huge % of messaging) of the other party

The session ended with a rigorous Q&A session. Thank you, MasterCard’s LFI team members, for the invitation and the warm welcome extended to me.

About the author:

Based in Singapore, Raju Venkataraman is an executive coach for senior leaders, career consultant and leadership + business skills trainer. This follows a successful & fulfilling 29 year corporate career including several years as a C-Suite leader with The Walt Disney Company in the Asia-Pac region. He travels in the region for coaching and training assignments. Raju leverages his rich business experience for:

•  helping senior executives from various organisations, grow in their career journey, with 1-0n-1 executive coaching and 1-on-1 career management advice
•  conducting training workshops & delivering conference speeches in Singapore & abroad, for leaders & managers (for MBA students too) on Negotiation Skills, Finance Business Partnering, Leadership Agility & Accountability, Strategic CFO, Business Model Innovation, Adapting to Change, Leading Change, Hone your Business Acumen, Pro-active Career Management, Influencing without Authority, Corporate Navigation using your Political acumen, New Manager Essentials & similar topics
• Please feel free to contact Raju Venkataraman at [email protected]