NFIB

How To Reach a True Win-Win Agreement, Part II
03/ 22/ 2002

Almost all agreements between two or more business parties are reached by some degree of negotiation. Most business deals involve buyers and sellers, and rarely do both come into a room to find that their terms match perfectly. Since both parties generally try to get the best terms for themselves, reaching a middle ground can potentially become a battle. But if the parties are establishing an ongoing business relationship the negotiation process may leave scars that can make all future contacts between them awkward or even hostile.

At the beginning of a long-term relationship, a win-win agreement is clearly preferable. Both sides emerge from the negotiation feeling that they won, or at least were part of a workable compromise. In last week's Workshop, Jeffrey Moses discussed the importance of maintaining a number of issues in the negotiation to achieve a Win-Win Agreement. In today's Workshop, he continues with additional points on the topic. Much of this information is adapted for small businesses from the book Secrets of Power Negotiating, by Roger Dawson.

An important point in creating a win-win situation, as discussed in Mr. Dawson's book, is to never assume that the other party has the same ultimate goals that you do. Price may be all important to you, but something else may be all important to your negotiating opponents. The trick to successful win-win negotiating is finding out what that goal is, and reaching a satisfying conclusion on that issue.

If it turns out that price is indeed the most important issue for both parties, your job is to find another issue that is highly important to your opponents. Once you know that issue, you can begin to offer more of that in return for achieving more of what you want. The ideal is to not to continually think: "What can I get out of this?" Rather, you should think: "What can I give so that my opponents can give me what I want?"

Another important point to achieving a win-win agreement is to not be so greedy that you try to take everything that you can get. This is true both in the actual negotiation, and in the long-term relationship that follows the agreement. When someone thinks that they have given everything and received little in return, their feelings will be anything but congenial.

The final point of reaching a win-win agreement is to give something extra even after the negotiations are finished. This doesn't mean suddenly lowering the agreed-upon price. But it does mean offering something that is beyond the call of duty: a little extra service, a slightly longer payment period, a free upgrade on a few of the models discussed. Giving something extra serves two functions. First, it simply makes the other party feel good. They'll remember the extra and will always consider that a true win-win agreement was reached. Second, it will help cement the deal. Even the most agreeable win-win contracts can fall apart before ultimate finalization. But when you throw in something extra, the other party will be all the more committed and will work harder to keep the agreement in force.

It often becomes apparent during negotiations that both parties are trying for a win-win agreement. Even so, without a working knowledge of how to negotiate properly, the tone of discussions can swerve and become much more antagonistic than hoped for. The tips suggested in today's and last week's Workshops can serve to preserve the win-win tone and can help achieve a contractual agreement that is the basis for a successful long-term relationship.

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