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 preparing for your negotiations.
1. What is the absolutely best outcome for you in this negotiation?
What would a great agreement (one that you would be very 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 deal.
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 planned objective. By asking for a little more than you would like to achieve you allow yourself to make a concession to your counterpart in return for a counter concession.
On the upside, 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 never go for that .Take note that I am not suggesting 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 negotiation?
If you do not decide on a specific stage at which it will no longer be feasible or attractive for you to close a transaction, then you may become susceptible to reaching an agreement that you will not be able to live with. This is important to do as you could easily become emotionally committed to closing a transaction at all cost because you may think that your individual credibility is at stake.
3. What do you think are the aspirations and minimum acceptable agreement levels for your counterpart?
It is also critical that you contemplate 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 deal is the standard in your industry or kind of negotiation.
By considering the aspirations and minimum acceptable transaction levels from your counterparts perspective, you will be able to identify the agreement range. Being aware of the agreement range or zone of possible agreement (ZOPA) will help you to see if a deal is possible or not.
Most negotiation training courses 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 most of your success in negotiation is dependent on the quality of your planning. 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.
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