Effective Negotiation Strategies

Knowledge plays a powerful role in a negotiation. The better your knowledge is on the other party’s circumstances, the stronger you are at bargaining. Always let the other party start the negotiation. It might be just what you wished for.

As discussed in the previous chapter, there are three stages of a negotiation, i.e., Exchange of Information, Bargaining, Closing the Deal, which define the negotiation process.

Prior to the beginning of the process, adequate preparations are a must for the negotiation.

Some of the most common strategies to chalk out before any negotiation are −

• Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)
• Worst Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (WATNA)
• Walk Away Price (WAP)

You should be the only one to know your position in the negotiations. When negotiators know about the weak position of their counterparts, they will instantly deduce that their opponents are desperate and will negotiate from that point.

It also includes collecting information about the problems to be solved in the negotiation. Following the negotiation, both parties should try to revive relationships that may have been harmed during the negotiation process.