Introduction
The need for effective negotiation skills is pervasive in virtually every field of human endeavor. Without understanding both parties’ BATNA, having high aspirations, and applying other vital components of effective negotiation, it is impossible to achieve superior bargaining results. Given that an individual’s negotiation skills are often exhibited in multiple ways in a single day, the deployment of such skills is essential in both work and non-work experiences. This paper aims to outline a real-world negotiation experience in which I had to lower my friend’s professional wedding photography bill.
Negotiation
A friend of mine, Gloria, asked me to help with her wedding set-up. Among other duties, I had to negotiate with a professional photographer and videographer, Kim, to provide Gloria with a discount. I knew that professional-grade wedding photographs are expensive; therefore, not willing to compromise the quality of precious memories I decided to spend a substantial amount of time on planning and preparation. To this end, I studied the photographer’s website to understand how he may approach the negotiation. The information provided on the website revealed that Kim is a competitive person who is open to dialogue. As part of my planning, I also considered the following negotiation concepts: resistance point, aspiration level, BATNA, anchor, and objective rationales. After thorough research on the current state of the wedding photography market, I discovered that the services of professional photographers cost $1, 600 on average. To assess my BATNA, I listed and evaluated my alternatives.
Gloria’s fiancé is an active military member; therefore, I knew that if I had to walk away from the negotiation, the couple could count on a 5 percent military discount from some professional wedding photographers. Also, I knew that I had strong leverage in the negotiation because many competitors can provide the couple with similar services. However, Gloria insisted on me securing the best possible price because she liked Kim’s work and wanted him to be her wedding photographer. I realized that this piece of information should not be revealed to him because the man could take advantage of a weak BATNA and push me to my resistance point. As for the resistant point, it was discussed with Gloria and was set at $1, 800. I knew that this line of value should not be revealed to the photographer who could have used it to close the deal at that point. Before the negation, I decided to set an aspiration point that would counteract the other party’s resistance point. I did not want to set an aspiration point unrealistically low, so it was set at $1, 500.
I knew that anchoring could be extremely effective at the bargaining table; therefore, upon entering the negotiation, Kim was presented with a proposal, which was lower than my aspiration point—$1, 400. The photographer refused my offer and retorted that clients who ask for a discount do not value his work. I responded that I valued his time and expertise and only asked for a discount because I knew that he would benefit from shooting the couple. After all, they had an unconventional wedding. I let Kim know that he could use unique images from a cave wedding for building an exceptional portfolio. After negotiating for a while we settled on a satisfactory amount of $1, 500. The key lesson I learned from the negotiation experience is that one should not be afraid to aim for even extremely optimistic aspirations at the bargaining table. Another important lesson is that it is impossible to become a successful negotiator without thorough preparation and planning.
Conclusion
The real-world negotiation experience provided me with valuable insights into the art of making mutually satisfying agreements.