商务英语谈判技巧.docx

商务英语谈判技巧.docx

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商务英语谈判技巧

BusinessNegotiationSkillsinEnglish

（商务英语谈判技巧）

PhasesofNegotiation

AccordingtoRobertMaddux,authorofSuccessfulNegotiation,negotiationistheprocessweusetosatisfyourneedswhensomeoneelsecontrolswhatwewant.Inbusinessnegotiations,thetwopartiesendeavortoobtaintheirbusinessgoalsthroughbargainingwiththeircounterparts.Businessnegotiationsareconductedinthefollowingfourphases:

thepreparationphase,openingphase,bargainingphaseandclosingphase.

Preparationphase

1.Choosingyourteam

Thenegotiationteamshouldincludemembersinthefollowingareas:

Commercial:

responsibleforthenegotiationonprice,deliveryterms,andcommercialpolicyofrisktaking.

Technical:

responsibleforspecifications,programs,andmethodsofwork.

Financial:

termsofpayment,creditinsuranceandfinancialguarantees.

Legal:

contractdocuments,termsandconditionsofcontract,insuranceandlegalinterpretation.

Interpreter:

familiarwiththeforeignlanguageneededaswellasthenegotiation-relatedknowledge,andhavingcertaincommunicationskills.

Themostimportantroleintheteamisthechiefnegotiator（CN）,whoissupposedtopossessthefollowingqualities:

sociability,shrewdness,adaptability,patience,endurance.Otherthanthat,extensiveknowledge,clearoralexpressionaswellasstrongleadershiparealsoimportantforaCN.

2.Gatheringandanalyzinginformation

Valuableinformationcoverstheareasinpolitical,legalaswellasbusinesssystem,marketresearch,financialpolicies,infrastructureandlogistics.Theknowledgeonthecounterpartisalsonecessary.Withtheinformationathand,itistimedoafeasibilitystudytoadjustourgoalstobeachieved.

3.Thenegotiationplan

Theplandefinesthenegotiatingobjectives,setstheminimumacceptablelevelforeachterm,andstatesthetimecontrol,initialstrategy,thetacticsandothersincludingthelocation,personnelandfacilitiesneeded.Awell-designedplanallowsmoreflexibilityindifferentsituationsandguidesthenegotiatorsthroughthenegotiationprocesswithoutgettingofftrack.

Theopeningphase

Itiscommonthatthesellersubmitsproposals.Thenthebuyerconfrontswiththreeoptions:

outrightacceptance,outrightrejection,andqualifiedrejection,thelastofwhichisusuallythemostchoice.Oncethepositionsandobjectivesofbothpartiesarerevealed,thenegotiatorsbegintoreflectbothonthelosstheywillsufferiftheywouldconcedeandonthelosstheywillreceiveiftheywouldrefusetoconcede.

Thebargainingphase

Atthisstage,concessionsaremadeandadvantagesaregained,thusanagreementistobeachieved.Necessarilytheteamshouldmakeareappraisaloftheotherparty’sconcessionfactor.Iftheotherpartyconcedesmore/fasterthanexpected,theirrealconcessionfactorisgreater.Adversely,iftheotherpartyconcedesless/slowerthanexpected,theyareperhapscorrectinestimation,ortheyaresimplybluffing.Asthenegotiationmovestothestageofidentifyingparticularconcessionexchanges,thenegotiatorswillexpecttoreceivesignalswhichindicatethegenuinepositions.

Theclosingphase

Oncethesellerandthebuyerreachanagreement,itistimetodrawupthecontract.Typicallyonepartypreparesthecontractlistingtheagreeduponclauses.Theotherpartymakesamendmentstothewordingtomakethemmorecloselyreflecttheagreement.

NegotiationStrategiesandTactics

Negotiationstrategiesandtacticsarecrucialtobusinessnegotiation.Generallyspeaking,strategymaybedefinedastheoverallplanusedtogainadvantageovertheopponentorachievesomeend.Tacticsmaybedefinedasthemeansbywhichthestrategicobjectiveisachieved.Onceastrategyhasbeenchosen,tacticsmustbedevisedtoassurethatthegoalsareachieved.

Strategies

Therearetwobasicstrategies:

offensiveanddefensive.Offensivestrategiesareusedtotakeinitiativewhilethedefensiveonesaretoobserveandwaituntilopportunitiescomeandnecessarymeasuresbetaken.Usuallythepartywiththegreatestsenseofneedwillmaketheinitialcontact.However,asuitablestrategywillonlyemergeonlyafterthefollowingguidelinesareconsidered:

Whatisourmaingoalinthetargetmarket

Whataretheissuestobenegotiated

WhatlevelofagendacontrolcanIorweexpect

Haveweanalyzedthepersonalinformationofourcounterpartsortheirnegotiationhistory

Haveweanalyzedthestrengthsandweaknessesofbothsides

Whatisouropeningofferandwhatisthebottomline

Havewecollectedenoughevidence

Haveweworkedoutthealternativesforthesolution

Canweaffordtosay“No”

Whatarethealternativestoacompletednegotiation

Tactics

Therearetwotypesoftacticscommonlyusedinthenegotiationprocess:

offensiveanddefensive.

OffensiveTactics:

ProbeforInsight.Askvalue-free,informationalquestionstofindoutwhattheotherparty’sunderlyingneedsare.Avoidjudgmentalstylesofquestioning-eventhoughyourfirstinstinctistousethem.Howyouwordthesequestionswillhelporhinderyouinobtainingresponses.Forexample,ifyousay,“Howdidyoueverthinkyoucouldgetthatobjective”youwillsimplyputtheotherpartyonthedefensive.Butifyousay,“I’mnotsureIunderstandwhythatobjectiveissoimportanttoyou.Canyouexplainyourconcerns”Youarefarmorelikelytoobtainusefulinformationabouttheotherparty’sunderlyingconcerns.

Feignablowtotheeastandattackinthewest.Onepartywilloveremphasizetheapparentimportancetosecuringaparticularpointwhentheirrealobjectiveistheexactopposite.Somenegotiatorsareusuallysuspiciousofanyproposalmadebytheircounterparts.

TakeTitfortat.It’saneffectivetactictomakeyourcounterpartgiveup.Bysaying“No”clearlyandfirmly,youcanmakeanimpressionthatyouhavemadeenoughconcessionandwillwithdrawnolonger.Usuallythehard-shellapproachpushesthedealforwardandfoolstheopponentintomakingconcessionsandclosingthedeal.

Controlthewrittenrecord.Seizetheopportunitytogetthewordinbyvolunteeringtopreparetheminutesofthemeeting,thedraftofthereport,orthesummaryofthediscussion.

Evenwhenawrittenreportisn’trequired,youcanstilltakeituponyourselftoplaythisrolebysimplywritingafollow-upletterore-mailtotheotherparty.

Forexample,ifyou’vejusthadatelephonediscussionwithasupplier,followitupwithaquicke-mailstating,“Nicetospeakwithyoutoday.Here’saquicknotetohelpmerememberwhatwedecidedinourphoneconversation.”Unlesstheyrefusethewrittenversion,they’vetacitlyacceptedit.

Bytheway,thisisagreattacticfordealingwithdifficultbosses.Solongasthewrittenfollow-upispoliteandrespectful,yourbosswillprobablyletyougetawaywithdocumentingthingslikeyourjobassignmentsandperformancefeedbackthatyouhaveaninterestinsecuring.Thenyoudon’thavetosaylateron,“ButIthoughtyousaid…”You–andyourboss–willknowwhatwassaid.

Developalternatives.It’ssoeasytodevelopalternatives,butmostnegotiatorsneverdo,whichmeansyoucangainasignificantadvantagebyspecializinginthissimpletactic.

Forexample,supposeyoucallaresorthoteltomakeareservationforaconferencethatrequiresyoutostayfortwonightsoveraweekend–onlytofindthatthehotel’spolicyrequiresathree–nightstay.Youcouldgrinandbearit,payingfortheextranightyoudon’tneed.Manyguestsdo–that’swhytheresortpersistsinthepolicy.ButwhynotdevelopalternativesFirst,asktospeaktoasupervisor（whopresumablywouldhavetheauthoritytonegotiate）,andthenaskher/himpolitelytogiveyouthenamesandnumbersofotherhotelsnearbyincaseyoucan’tgetthereservationyouwant.

Thisinnocentquestion,followedbyamomentarypauseinwhichyouwritedownthenumbers,putsyouinabetteropeningpositionbylettingthepointsinkinthatyoucanverywelltakeyourbusinesselsewhere.Andittakesonlyamomentandnoadditionalcallssincetheinformationaboutalternativesissolicitedfromtheotherparty.Whenthedustsettlesyoushouldgetwhatyouwant–anexceptiontothepolicy–becauseyouhaveinvokedthethreatofexercisingyouralternatives.

Nibbling.Nibblingisamongthemostpopularofnegotiationtactics.Theactualstrategyistocontinuethenegotiationsafterthedealissupposedlydone.Thistacticismosteffectivewhenagreatdealoftimehasbeenspendfinalizingthenegotiationandtheotherpartyhasinvestedagreatdealoftimeintoit.Forinstance,ifyouarebuyingapieceofproperty,afterthedealisfinalizedyoumayaskforotheraccommodationsthatwerenotoriginallypartoftheplanforthepropertythatyoupurchased.Thiscanbeafairlyriskytacticalthoughalargemajorityofindividualswillnotrenegeonthedealaftersomuchtimehasbeenputintoit.Ifyouchoosetotrythenibblingtechnique,youmaynotwanttoaskfortoomuchasthiscanbreakdowntheentireprocess.

Defensivetactics:

Silenceisgolden.Youcan’tgiveanythingawayifyoudon’ttalk.Infact,howmuchyougiveawayisgenerallyproportionaltohowmuchyoutalk.Thatmeanstheonewhotalksthemost,loses.

SowhyisitsohardtoshutandlisteninanegotiationItisn’thardforeverybody.ManyJapanesenegotiatorsarecomfortablewithlongperiodsofsilence–aculturaldifferencethatgivesthemanaturaledgeovermoretalkativeAmericans.

Let’sthinkquietlyaboutthatforaminute.（Waitoneminutebeforemovingon）.

Okay.We’reback.DidyousquirmalittlewhileweweresittingheresilentlyWereyoutemptedtofillthevoidMostpeopleare