Effectively Negotiating with the Touch of Persuasion

In this article, we look at a number of elements of persuasive negotiating, including power, arguments, voice and body language, techniques to overcome resistance, and intercultural aspects of negotiating. The aim of the article is to give you a range of options and techniques to use in different negotiating situations.

1. The Key Principles

a) Persuasion and power

All negotiations take place within the context of a specific power relationship, for example, that of buyer and seller, or of manager and team member. You need to think about this relationship during your preparation, because it is likely to affect your ability to persuade. For example, it is normally thought that buyers hold the aces when dealing with sales representatives. However, if the seller is the sole supplier of a product, this is clearly not so.

b) Persuasion and listening

Persuasive negotiating means more than simply trying to convince others to share your point of view. Confrontation and worse still, bullying are not constructive strategies. Listening to the arguments of your counterparts, and trying to understand their position, are key skills in effective persuasion. They allow you to tailor your arguments to the needs of your counterparts and increase your chances of success.

c) Persuasion and strategy

The research by Neil Rackham of Huthwaite highlights four key forms of behaviour that are typically used by successful, persuasive negotiators.

• Labelling: Signalling what you are going to say and why. This will help people to understand you and reduces the risk of moving too quickly.
• Testing understanding and summarizing: Checking to see whether ideas have been understood. This will help the negotiation to stay on track and prevent misunderstandings.
• Asking questions: Getting the key facts. Questions help you to control the discussion as well as to check your understanding of your counterpart’s words.
• Describing feelings: Expressing your feelings and acknowledging those of others. This will build trust and can be used to avoid serious conflict.

d) Persuasion and context

Effective negotiators are flexible; they know that techniques that work in one business context may be totally counterproductive in another. For example, different cultures have different attitudes towards the following factors:

• Time: what is the time frame for persuasion: minutes, months or years?
• Hierarchy: whom do you need to persuade in order to get agreement?
• Status: do you have the status required to impress and persuade your counterparts?
• Negotiating style: are your counterparts persuaded by directness, formality, logic, humour?
• Relationship: do you need to be friends with your counterparts in order to persuade them?

2. Persuasion Techniques: Style

a) Convince with facts

Preparation is essential. Nothing is more persuasive than a mastery of the relevant facts and figures. Knowing your subject inside out allows you to present arguments that are more coherent and logical. For example, when negotiating with a supplier, you should know all the details of past negotiations with that company, including any special agreements made.

b) Step by step

“Slowly but surely” is usually the best method in negotiations, rather than trying to agree on everything at once. Take things step by step and try to get agreement on non-controversial issues before moving on to the contentious questions.

c) Be creative

Negotiating is a creative science. Your ability to persuade may depend on your finding new and creative solutions to difficult issues. Remember, however, that creativity requires preparation; before your next negotiation, think about different possible negotiating scenarios and define yourself which points you are – and are not – prepared to compromise on.

d) Be positive

Creating the right focus is essential if you want others to share or accept your position. Focusing on the strengths of your solution and highlighting the weaknesses of alternatives is the basis of effective selling. In certain situations, it can be helpful to make clear the consequences of failing to reach agreement.

e) Appeal to authority

If you are unable to – or are forced to – do something because of company policy, then your argument develops a legitimacy that can not be challenged. This is not a tactic that you should use too often, but sometimes it can be effective.

3. Persuasion Techniques: Language

a) Make it interesting

Working in a foreign language can significantly reduce the persuasive power of your message. Too often, non-native speakers make the mistake of concentrating exclusively on their message – just on giving facts, for example – rather than thinking about how they are communicating. Make your message more interesting by adding an anecdote, making analogies or even using quotations. Adding “colour” to your message can make it more persuasive.

b) Make it memorable

Keep it short and simple (“KISS”) when presenting your key points. It makes them memorable.

c) Say it, say it again

Effective persuaders add power to their messages by repeating them in a number of creative ways.

• They repeat structures: “It’s cheaper, more efficient and more creative.”
• They repeat with other words: “Let me put it another way: …”
• They simply repeat: “As I said earlier, …”

d) Make it personal

Relationships are an important part of negotiating. At times, it can be helpful to play the “trust me” card, making your personal commitment clear. For example: “If I were able to offer you a bigger discount, I would. I’m sure you know that. But I’m afraid it’s not possible at the moment.”

e) Ask questions

Another common mistake made by non-native speakers is not asking enough questions. Questions are essential to understanding your counterpart’s motivations, to finding creative solutions, and even to putting pressure on your negotiating partner.

4. Effective Listening

Listening actively and critically is an important skill in international business, particularly in negotiations. To be an effective listener, you need to ask yourself some critical questions while you are listening. Here are some examples:

• What is this speaker’s aim in speaking to me?
• Is the speaker exaggerating the situation?
• Has the speaker supported all his claims with the necessary information?
• What has been left out?
• Is the speaker covering up critical issues?
• Is the speaker being logical and honest?
• Am I being manipulated?

5. Closing the Deal

Finally, make your persuasion count by closing the deal. To do so, follow these steps:

• Signal that you think it is time to finish. “Great. So I think that we have an agreement.”
• Summarize the discussion. “So, we’ve agreed that …”
• Celebrate success. Make some positive comments on what has been achieved. “Well, that was good. We’ve achieved a lot today.”
• Plan the future. Agree on a future plan with expected actions. “So we are going to meet again on Monday to sign the documents.”
• End positively. Remember to make small talk after the negotiations as well as before and during. Say good bye positively: “Thanks very much again, see you next time. Bye.”