Negotiations Training

Working With the Clock: Managing Time During a Negotiation

It's the end of the quarter and your sales numbers aren't quite what they should be. You've been working with a customer over the past two months to nail down a contract that would put you well past quota. Your Director has been putting pressure on you for the past two weeks and its been showing in your dealings with your clients. Somehow, the client caught wind of the situation and decided to schedule a final negotiation at 3:00 on the last day of the quarter.

Who has the upper hand? Clearly, it's not you. Your client wised up to the situation and decided to use time to their advantage. It is a difficult situation to be in and one that you would be wise to avoid, at all costs. Dealing with deadlines and time pressures can cause undue stress on you and can lead to lopsided negotiations and money left on the table. Regardless of whether you are a purchasing agent needing to acquire materials before they run out, a contracts analyst working to help your sales department close a year-end deal or an executive seeking to seal a merger before nervous shareholders scream too loudly, knowing how to manage time is a critical skill.

Managing time properly not only enables you to avoid excessive pressure, it also enables both parties to weigh situations and consider various options without feeling overly rushed to agree to terms. In some instances, specific clauses or proposals may require approval from individuals who are not present at a negotiation. Having a proper amount of time will help accommodate these situations. Even when it is believed that those with the right authority are present, there are times when certain terms might need C-level or board approval.

A few points to help you manage time during a negotiation include:

* Deadlines - When faced with a deadline in a negotiation, ask yourself who controls the deadline. Is the deadline controlled by you or the other party? If it is internally imposed, is it a realistic deadline? If the client has imposed it, is it set in stone? Try to gather as much information to determine why a deadline exists and if it can be influenced. If necessary, it never hurts to ask more time.

* Be Willing to Bend on Time - There may be times when the other party may ask you for more time during a negotiation. One of the keys of principled negotiations is to be willing to act in good faith to ensure that a win-win situation and strong relationship will emerge from a negotiation. Providing additional time, within reason, shows the other party that you are open to working with them. Of course, consider if providing additional time places you in a severe disadvantage. Ultimately, you should seek to do that which will ensure a positive outcome for you while protecting the relationship with the other party.

* Don't Allow Negotiations to Stall - In those instances when the other party requests additional time, be sure to impose a deadline. Don't let momentum go by the wayside by allowing a negotiation to stall.