Ensure To Examine These Two Elements When Seeking A Business Negotiation Initiative, It Will Cost You Dearly Otherwise

Supply participants with a 'negotiation system'

Many suppliers of negotiation skills development programmes approach negotiation training as something that is complicated rather than complex - in other words, they advocate a method to negotiation that is sequential & linear (advocating for instance that there are a certain number of steps involving all negotiations).

This method of complicated & linear approach will empower individuals & businesses with the tools to endure simple & one dimensional negotiations but will leave them dangerously unprotected in multi-party, multi-issue, complex negotiations.

It would be a good bet that most professional golfers are better golfers than their coaches. Why then do they employ coaches?

Because it is nearly impossible to examine one's own game accurately. When at the top level of golf, as in any sport, we understand that the margins between success and failure can be very small indeed. We learn through this affiliation that the professional golfer's trainer understands that his 'master's' game is mostly brilliant.

It is by paying attention to the small detail that changes in results are achieved.

Business negotiation is similar to golf in many areas. To be a rounded business negotiator, one needs to have mastered all the key factors that constitute leading practice in the field of negotiation.

A complete and rounded approach should be followed that covers the 4 important elements of all negotiations: Vision, Value, Process & Relationship. As in golf, it is vital that we first understand how we respond in our negotiations when under stress, before we learn to deploy new skills.

Research proves that only 5 to 25 % of the material shared during a business negotiation session will be retained by delegates. So as to ensure the application of negotiation best practices at the office it is vital that people should be given a negotiation system that serves to:

* Provide them with a standardised negotiation preparation check list (ideally customised to support the organisation's negotiation strategy & process).

* Provide them with easy access to all the negotiation strategies, tactics & techniques that are useful to support their negotiations.

You should safeguard not to invest in an academic training course that has little practical application within your industry. At the same time you don't want to focus on the equivalent of a street fighters negotiation course that is only focused on tactical negotiation tricks & techniques.

It is best to find a course that combines sound academically researched and validated principles with proven practical credentials.

Develop a best practice negotiation supporting environment

What happens after the training course? This is a very important question.

Will you provide the participants with one on one coaching to help them apply the best practice principles to their professional negotiations?

Will you be running short follow up sessions at regular intervals to reinforce the learning?

Will you develop a negotiation knowledge base so participants can access experience & information already in the library of the business?

As you can see, in many ways the training program is only the start of the process. To guarantee maximum savings in time, reduction in expenses and increases in profits, it is essential that you develop and instill a best and leading practice based negotiating culture within your organisation.