Negotiations Skills Training
With
over twenty-five years of proven industry experience, the
Negotiations
Training Institute of America is the recognized leader in
negotiations training, consulting and performance coaching. Through public open
enrollment seminars and private on-session training sessions, we
have helped leading corporations, non-profit organizations and governmental
agencies improve their ability to
negotiate
better outcomes for their constituencies.
First-time
negotiators as well as those with the greatest
competitive
drive and amount of first-hand experience and
negotiations
wisdom can benefit from our time-tested workshops. Whether focusing
on
negotiating
a contract with a vendor or jumping in to the often-stressful
car buying process to
deal
with a dealership, our courses provide useful skills, proven techniques
and various classroom role plays to help you
become
more aware of negotiations that you must face on a daily basis.
For more information on our negotiation skills training courses please
contact us.
Negotiations
Training
Dealing
with Each Other Over the Phone:
Telephone
Negotiations
It's another
day at the office for Tonya Water. As puts the final touches on
a trip report for a recent visit to Yummy Foods in Kissimmee, Florida,
her phone rings...
Tonya: Tonya
Water, Redi-Tite Packaging. Can I help you?
Greta: Tonya,
it's Greta Wannadeal at Crack-O Crackers. Do you have a sec?
Tonya: Sure
thing. What's up, Greta?
Greta: We need
to talk about
renegotiating
our supply contract for Funny Farm Cracker boxes and displays.
Tonya: Uh...
oh... really!?
Tonya thought
it was going to be just another day at the office until Greta dropped
an unexpected call on her lap. Greta has seen that Wrappex has been
discounting their packaging and wants Redi-Tite to follow suit.
Being the
instigator
of a negotiation, Greta just found herself in a very strong
position of power while Tonya is clearly at a disadvantage. What
to do...
First off, Tonya
just learned the first rule of negotiations.
If you're not initiating the call or setting it as a scheduled event,
don't take part. Greta effectively caught Tonya by surprise. Tonya
should make the right move by stopping the negotiation and asking
Greta if they can schedule a call because she is about to be on
another call or her cat just died or whatever. She simply needs
to step back so that Greta can't use her
unfair
advantage to get the best of Redi-Tite.
Once Tonya and
Greta can set a time to talk, each side will be able to negotiate
from more even ground as scheduled calls remove
unfair
advantages. They also offer other benefits. In general, telephone-based
negotiations tend to be shorter and less drawn out. There is also
less time between exchanges as parties can either verify information
while on the phone (via the Internet, by placing another call or
pulling someone in the office) and
follow-up
discussions can quickly be set up as they take far less time.
Furthermore, telephone negotiations can take care of smaller, less-important
negotiations that don't require as much
face-to-face
time.
There are times,
though, when
telephone
negotiations can provide more detrimental than beneficial. We've
all seen people
lose
focus on conference calls while they
check
e-mails or surf the web. With face-to-face negotiations, each
party must focus. Telephone negotiations allow room for some slacking
to take place and that can lead to bad results. Furthermore, not
having the time to truly sit down and has out various items, telephone
negotiations are sometimes more prone to
errors
and omissions. As discussed earlier, those who are caught by
surprise stand to lose the most. Often, rather than turning down
the other party, many fall into the trap of
negotiating
without any preparation. We don't have to tell you how deadly
this can be. Lastly, when you negotiate over the telephone, you
remove the benefit of literally seeing the other person. Imagine
making a proposal and hearing nothing but silence on the other side
of the line. The other person may be nodding their head in agreement
but slowly thinking of a proper approach. Not knowing this, the
first person may interpret the silence as disagreement. When you
negotiate over the phone, you lose the ability to
give
and receive non-verbal cues.
Ultimately,
there is a time and a place for telephone negotiations. The best
time is a scheduled one. Don't get caught off guard when the other
party is looking to get the best of you. Avoid
overly
complex negotiations over the telephone and be sure to stay
focused when talking or
listening to the other party. A bit of caution can go a long
way.
For Negotiation
Skills Seminar information please
contact
us.
Related:
Negotiation Course
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