NEGOTIATION SKILLS
Disruptive
negotiation
Here, Kevin Ryan celebrates the
New Year with disruption.
The world is being disrupted – in every
area.
From Airbnb to Uber and Grab to
Bitcoin, established industries are being
turned upside-down. Old-style operators
are losing market share at a terrifying
rate. Innovative organisations have
recognised that this is not an aberration,
it is a trend; and smart businesses will use
this wave of disruption to surf past the
competition and leave it in their wake.
So, it just makes sense for clever
negotiators to use disruption to
increase their success. There are many
opportunities for disruptive behaviour in
a negotiation. Here are some you can use
immediately.
Disrupt the opening
Traditional negotiators enter a
negotiation seeking to assert their power
and authority. They aim to intimidate
the other party, dominate them from the
outset, so that they will moderate their
demands and be willing to accept less.
Disruptive negotiators leave their
desire to dominate at the door. Instead,
they start softly and gently, aiming to
understand the other party’s interests,
priorities and concerns. This way, they
can assess which parts of their offering to
emphasise when it comes to putting their
proposal.
Disrupt the sharing
Negotiation used to be like playing poker
– wearing your ‘poker face’ to conceal
your feelings and using bluff as one of
your main tools. Disruptive negotiators
use unexpected disclosure to shock and
disarm their opponents. They will share
some information the other side does not
expect. They will explain the interests
that formed the basis of their proposal,
rather than just putting their offer and
hard-selling it. They will share their
feelings and invite the other party to do
the same.
Disrupt your attitude
Negotiation used to be like a sporting
contest where the aim was to win by
focussing relentlessly on pursuing your
needs. Smart, modern negotiators disrupt
this by aiming to create the deal that
is most likely to have their opponents
say “yes”. It’s not a contest, it is a joint
problem-solving exercise. The decision is
easy because they make the other side’s
satisfaction paramount. They know that
a negotiation is the start of a working
relationship and if it causes resentment
on either side (because they feel they
were out-negotiated), then making
this deal work will be difficult, if not
impossible.
Disrupt the close
It used to be all about getting
the signature, the handshake, the
commitment and applying whatever
pressure was necessary to get it.
Disruptive negotiators might put the final
decision aside and move on to discussing
implementation problems, knowing
that when solutions to these problems
are clear, saying “yes” is much easier. A
negotiation that fails in implementation
(and research has shown that between
75% and 97% do) is a waste of time and
resources for both sides - and can ruin a
potentially profitable relationship.
Disruption in negotiation is about
finding smarter ways to deal with others.
Using these techniques will surprise your
opponents. They will think that “there’s
something different about this person.”
They may even recognise you as an
innovative disrupter with the potential
to create massively successful
agreements.
Disruption in
negotiation is about
finding smarter ways to
deal with others
Disrupt the process
Old-style negotiators got down to
business straight away. They slapped
their offer on the table and invited
the other side to do the same so they
could start bargaining. Disruptive
negotiators hold their offer back until
some sharing of interests and feelings
has occurred. They start a non-binding
dialogue where they are able to probe
each other’s priorities before putting
any formal offers. Once bargaining
starts, information sharing stops. Smart
negotiators recognise that the more
information is shared, then the better the
chance of identifying the ways each side
can offer the other the maximum value in
any given deal.
About the author
Kevin Ryan is a professional speaker, workshop leader, author and coach who has specialised in the areas of negotiation, sales
and business presentations for over 30 years. He has worked with small to medium-sized enterprises and large corporations
such as Microsoft, Cisco, Lend Lease and Carlton United throughout Australia and Asia. He has written ten books and his
articles are regularly featured in major newspapers and magazines across the world.
Read more at www.ryanandassociates.com.au
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