Negotiations Training

Tools You Can Use:
Planning Worksheets for your Negotiations

We spend quite a bit of time talking about the importance of planning. To us, the planning phase is quite possibly the most important phase of a negotiation. Why? An entire negotiation can stand or fall based on what takes place before two parties even sit down at the negotiating table. Just as a field marshal would not lead his troops into battle without a plan or a basketball coach would not take on a rival without a scouting report, negotiators should never enter into a discussion without taking time to prepare.

One of the best ways to prepare is to gather the information we have discussed in our other topics on preparation. What better way to do this than to build a planning worksheet? Now, each person or team has his or her own preferences on how a planning worksheet should flow. That's great. We believe that for the worksheet to be effective, it must appeal to the person who will be using it. What we believe you should do is ensure that your planning worksheet includes some key information for you to gather. The format can change from company to company or team to team but the basics should stay the same. Here are some of the areas to lay out in your planning worksheet.

The Business Situation

* What outside factors are currently affecting the other party or their industry?
* How is the other party structured? (Decision-making, corporate structure, reporting, etc.)
* What are the other party's strengths?
* What are the other party's weaknesses?
* What are your strengths?
* What are your weaknesses?

The Personal Situation

* What is your previous experience working with the other party?
* Do you know how they make decisions?
* Are they prone to using tactics?
* What tactics might they use?
* What is their personality like?
* What is their primary negotiation style? (Adversarial, Competitive, Consultative, Reflective?)
* What is their work style?

Strategies

* What is your Wish? What might the other party's Wish be?
* What is your Aspiration? What might the other party's Aspiration be?
* What is your Bottom Line? What might the other party's Bottom Line be?
* What is your BATNA? What might the other party's BATNA be?
* What is your WATNA? What might the other party's WATNA be?
* What are possible interests? Where might they be common, opposing or differing (but not in conflict)?
* What are possible issues?
* What are possible positions?

Other key information

* What are some possible concessions you might make?
* Do you have a statement of objectives?
* Have you determined what common ground there is between the two of you?
* What are some questions you want to address?
* What other important information do you need?

We recommend you take these questions and build a planning worksheet or even a spreadsheet to gather the information. Leave yourself plenty of space to write or type in the information you need. In some areas, you may want to use columns to compare areas such as your Wish, Aspiration and Bottom Line. Build something that works well for you and that will be used time and time again during future internal or external negotiations.