The Keys to a Successful Negotiation

A few days ago, a friend of mine shared a story his negotiation with a car dealer's maintenance shop. Its result was less than satisfactory. His car had broken down, and a part needed to be replaced. Later, while out of town, the car died again. He was furious and decided to let the service manager know how he felt. He walked into the negotiation with assumptions, and he reacted to the situation. I asked, “How did that go for you?” “Not well,” he said, “I didn’t prepare for the negotiation at all. I let my emotions drive my decision making, and it turned out poorly. I reacted instead of responded.”

I’ve been helping physicians and other healthcare providers with their negotiations for many years. I have seen them improve their results by implementing a system to control their emotions. I want to share a few key points of the system I use every day.

Have a Plan

When you compare those individuals who negotiate well to those who don't, the thing that separates them apart is their prep work. How much time and effort do you spend before you sit down at the negotiation table? Do you tend to wing it and shoot from the hip or are you more methodical in your preparation? Studies show those who prepare fare far better than those who don’t. Preparation isn’t hard either. You’ll save yourself more than what you spend if you invest in building a solid foundation for your negotiation. Begin with knowing what it is you want to occur. Next, script out what you want to say. Practice responding to their objections and statements. Plan your responses so that you do not react but rather respond. One method I learned from Chris Voss, a former FBI hostage negotiator, is to perform an accusation audit. You want to try to understand their point of view by looking at yourself and seeing what they can accuse you of. Doing this will help you respond rather than react. Finally, one of the best ways to ensure you are prepared for a negotiation is to follow a system or checklist. Each time I fly my plane, I run through the same list. Why? Because I don’t want to crash and die. In the OR, I use a checklist to ensure the equipment is safe and ready for use. I use these checklists because I don’t want to miss something and they also help me focus on the task at hand. I use a checklist every time I enter a negotiation.

Use Questions to Discover the Problems

Questions, excellent questions, are the skilled negotiator's secret weapon. Most parties come to the table with positions, things they think they need and are determined to fight for them. They fight for them by arguing and providing data. They will attempt to convince the other side they are right. They are ready for debate and a fight. By asking questions, you’ll throw them off their game. They’ve prepared for your counter-arguments, not your questions. You’ll diffuse the situation and take the wind out of their sails. Using questions the proper way will help you discover the real problems they are facing. You can undercover their real issues, wants, and needs. You will build the vision of their pain. Correctly used questions can be used to obtain information and knowledge they might not be ready to share. Your objective is to discover their real problems, not just the presented problem. Sometimes they won’t understand what the real issue is. Instead, they have focused on solving the problem, which might be a symptom. More likely than not, they haven’t prepared by using a system that allows them to be knowledgeable about the issues they are trying to solve.

Control Your Emotions and Fears

Your emotions can wreak havoc in your negotiations. I don’t know about you, but I cannot think of a decision I made when I was emotional that could have been better if I weren’t emotional at the time. Be aware of what you are feeling. Focus on responding rather than reacting to the situation. Know yourself and where your fears originate. Using a systematic approach will help you know, understand, and control your emotions while you are at the negotiation table. Create a plan and adhere to it. Doing this will help you attain the negotiation results you desire.

Make a plan and use a system to help you. Prepare for the negotiation so you can respond rather than react. Use good questions to discover the problems the other side is facing. Prepare, prepare, prepare. If you want to learn about the negotiation system I use, complete the form below.