A negotiation strategy is a sequence of actions in negotiations that will lead to the achievement of specific goals. Before conducting negotiations, it is essential to establish who will hold them (find out information about the opponent). Then, to determine what result should be achieved through these talks and determine the strategy on which the outcome depends. In practice, there can be no single strategy for pursuing negotiations, each case requires a different approach that meets specific conditions, but the most common policy is the one based on cooperation.
Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton proposed the most common classification of negotiation strategies – the win-win classification. According to this classification, there are four main strategies: win-lose, lose-win, lose-lose, and win-win. In practice, it is possible to apply all these four variants in a variety of areas. The strategy is based on two parameters: the importance of the relationship and the significance of the result.
Win-lose is a strategy that is aimed solely at defeating an opponent as a rival. The result is most important, and the possibility of spoiling the relationship with the other party does not matter. A competitive negotiator is often willing to use any available means to get the desired agreement. People with this attitude use their strength of character, power, connections, the specifics of the situation, and any other advantages to achieve victory over their partner. Lose-win strategy leads to the tactical defeat of one side and the success of the opponent. The relationship is most important, and it is possible to make concessions about the result of negotiations. Lose-lose – the simplest example of using a strategy is to avoid participating in talks when the position is weak. However, there could be situations when one of the negotiators deliberately provokes a mutual loss in the negotiation process.
At the heart of the win-win strategy is cooperation; the aim is to ensure that all participants in the negotiations will benefit as a result. It is essential that the opponents understand, respect, and consider each other’s interests. It is necessary to reach an agreement by going deep into the problem and finding the solution that best suits both sides. In a negotiated environment, a win-win strategy means that solutions are equally beneficial to all participants. In this case, both parties are satisfied with the result and ready to make every effort to implement it. For performing the win-win strategy, it is necessary to formulate a proposal that is profitable to both sides, provide the opponent with strong evidence of winning the situation, and be open and honest. It is also essential to prove a positive outcome for both parties, analyze further activities into stages, and be in constant contact. It is crucial to have a positive attitude and focus on results.
The negotiations themselves are communication between the two sides here and now. The process includes not only conversation with the interlocutor, but also preparation for it and analysis of the results. The ability to negotiate is a skill that can be developed like any other. It is essential to learn how to negotiate with opponents, and it is necessary to prepare for meetings where the parties exchange views and make decisions.
I have planned to hold talks with my friends about where we will spend our vacation. First of all, to prepare for negotiations, it is crucial to determine the border after crossing which I will not continue talks. I have decided that a vacation cannot be more than two weeks or less than one week. If I do not formulate the least acceptable result in advance, I may not notice how the borders will shift during the negotiations. I also need to prepare an alternative solution that will suit me either. I want to go to the sea, but I have determined that, as a last resort, I can go to the countryside, to enjoy nature.
Then it is necessary to make a map of positions and interests for myself and my opponents. My position is to go on vacation to another country, the position of my friends is to stay in the city, not go anywhere. Interests are, in this case, the reasons that formed the position: I need a change of scenery; my friends want to spend time in the city. Each side has its concerns – possible consequences from the actions or omissions of the other hand. In my case: I will not get a proper rest unless I change my surroundings, and my friends are afraid that any trip will be expensive. Thus, during the negotiations, we need to focus on our common positions and interests and try to find an option that will suit both sides.
We started the negotiations with abstract topics, discussed the news, and then moved on to the subject of the meeting. I tried to get as much information from my opponents as possible by asking open questions: how they want to spend their vacation, where, on what dates, what budget. Then I tried to offer a mutually beneficial solution, recalling the alternatives that I had thought through in preparation for the negotiations. After that we participated in positional bidding, discussing possible options, and finally came to an agreement that satisfied all parties. It was decided to go to the countryside for one week – this vacation will not be expensive, but it is also an opportunity to change the scenery, leave the city. After that, we recorded the results of the negotiations and agreements, saying all the key points to make sure that everyone understood everything correctly.
The results of the negotiations that I was preparing for must be analyzed and evaluated. I examined what arguments my opponents made during the talks and what arguments I made, as well as whether I was able to defend my interests and what results we eventually achieved. In our negotiations, we used a win-win strategy, and in the end, all the participants of the talks were the winners.
Thus, negotiations can be useful if they led to a reasonable agreement and did not spoil relations between the parties. However, what strategy to choose in a particular case depends on the context of the situation. It is necessary to use the information received at the stage of preparation for negotiations and to understand the significance of the relationship and the result. Nevertheless, if both the result of talks and the development of relations in the future are essential, then the most successful strategy is a strategy based on cooperation. This type of approach takes into account the interests of all parties to the negotiations and the search for mutually beneficial solutions.