Success in Negotiation.

Many of us in the credit profession find ourselves in a position every day in which we must negotiate with customers or our sales force about a particular customer or situation. Yet, many of us still need to work on our negotiating skills. As we begin to look at negotiation, let's begin by asking, "Why do companies, groups and/or individuals negotiate?" The definition of negotiation is "reaching an agreement which is amicable to all parties involved."

Our success in negotiation depends upon three factors. First, a compelling desire to win, second, understanding the basic concepts and third, luck. At a recent leadership conference, I was told that "success or failure in negotiation is based more upon actions, inaction, habits, idiosyncrasies, blinders, insights and clever strategic movements of the individual involved, more than the terms of the agreement or other formal elements of the proposed transaction."

There are three different types of negotiation. The first is internal, which primarily involves managers and employees focusing on work and employee issues, such as job roles, pay, goals, priorities, tasks, productivity and deadlines. The second type of negotiation is external. This type of negotiation occurs between an organization and an external party, such as a customer, a supplier or your insurance carrier. All of us in the credit profession are involved in external negotiation on a daily basis. Some examples of external negotiation are bid proposals, delivery schedules, quality, deadlines, financing and the approval to supply our customers on a credit basis. The third type of negotiation is legal, which involves an organization abiding by the legal requirements of the various governing agencies. After this brief look at the types of negotiation, we can then begin to look at the six different negotiation styles. They are:

Forcing--A control oriented, "win-lose" approach. "A" gets what they want and "B" loses. This type of negotiation doesn't lead to any further negotiations.

Smoothing--Covering up the conflict by "agreeing to disagree." "B" gets what they want, while "A" loses. This type of agreement leads to frustration as only "B's" needs are met.

Avoiding--Aide-stepping or postponing the issue. Neither "A's" nor "B's" needs are met. This often leads to antagonism, animosity, arguing, etc.

Bargaining--"Splitting the difference"--Both "A" and "B" give a little and get a little. With this approach, some needs are met for each party involved, but some needs go unsatisfied for both parties.