Global Negotiation

Focus on similarities, not differences.

I often get asked about how negotiation differs around the world. Let me start with this. If you were a Chinese company asking me to come to China and help you understand how Americans negotiate, I couldn't. Having written multiple books on the subject, on both the buy and sell side, and consulting in over 20 countries it's not because?of lack of knowledge.

?Many years ago, we had an opportunity?to consult with our first customer outside?the US. 60% of their sales came from Japan. At this point I had never worked in Japan. This of course made them nervous (and me). The?quickest?response?I could think of was to?ask them to give me?access to a few of their executives and they agreed.

?· ?I interviewed three Japanese executives who had relocated to the co. HQ in San Jose

· ?Also interviewed?three American executives who relocated from CA to Japan

I asked all 6 executives the same 2 questions:

?For the?Japanese nationals:

?1. Now that you have relocated to the USA, how similar?are negotiations here as compared to Japanese negotiations?

?2. How different are the negotiations in the USA compared to Japan?

?We did the same (in reverse) for the American nationals now residing in Japan.?Here was the result:

?We had six people comparing similarities and differences and at no point did two data points intersect! In other words, there was zero alignment on how Japanese and Americans negotiate. Each person did bring their own personal experience?but there was no overlap.

?We have other examples such as a 19-country study on buyer tactics at the negotiating table and the same pattern held globally. 97% of buyer tactics followed a very predictable pattern and fell into two categories:

?1. They would refer to their alternative to you (typically?a competitor) and try to say you were the same

2. Then they would leverage that attempt at commoditization?to drive price and other concessions

?In fact, the most common tactic globally?followed that pattern:

?"I can get the same thing (alternative) cheaper (concession)"

?Having said all that, you might recall one of the first books about international business etiquette entitled?"Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands”.?

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What differs are cultural matters and anyone negotiating, or conducting any business internationally, should for sure be aware of cultural?sensitivities.?Consider the following from Rudemeter.com (yes, it's real!)

?How Rude Is It?

On the rude meter’s scale of 1 to 10, showing the soles of your shoes in India, Asia, and the Middle East rates a 9.?

So, if you're conducting deals internationally, read a book, articles, and get smart on cultures. The best way to prepare for doing any business internationally?is to understand?cultural?sensitivities.

?The best way to prepare for international negotiation is to:

? Focus On and Prepare For What Is Common

?Anticipate your buyer’s attempt to commoditize you and put price (or other give away) pressure on you. Not only anticipate, but prepare to counter "same thing" but also prepare a commercial terms?strategy to defend against concession pressure, move away from win/lose concessions, and prepare win/win "if this then that" trades.?

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