Negotiation Planning Guide: Strategies, Goals, and Tips

This article provides a comprehensive negotiation planning guide that covers strategies, goals, and tips for successful negotiations. It explains the importance of interests, BATNA, and target points in negotiation. The guide also discusses social and interpersonal factors that affect decision making during negotiations.

Running head: Negotiation planning guide 0
Negotiation planning guide
7/23/2018

Negotiation planning guide 1
INTRODUCTION
Negotiation is a communication or interaction between people that is used to settle
out their differences. It is a method by which dispute and argument are avoided, and parties
reaches to a common goal (Business Queensland, 2018). Negotiation can take place between
two or more parties in business, family and at many more places. Good negotiator is required
everywhere, because he/she ends up with fruitful result. Negotiation process includes proper
planning, setting of goals and preparation of strategies that are used to achieve the
negotiation. Goal is the pre specified standard where one wants to reach, and on the other
hand strategies are the tactics that are developed to achieve the goal.
NEGOTIATION PLANNING GUIDE
(PROCESS)
1. Negotiation planning goal: It is the process of identifying the mechanism for
bargaining strategies. If one wants to be successful in his/her negotiation, then very
clear goal should be there. Taking an example of salary negotiation, where employee
negotiates with his employer for increment in his salary on the basis of his
qualifications and experience.
2. Major issues in the negotiation related to achieving the goal:
 Premature judgement
 Looking for single outcome
 Looking for fixed expedient
 Involved in solving their own problems only
3. Importance of each issue:
 Premature judgement: It is all about making a judgement on its own without
keeping all of the facts in consideration. Premature judgement is prejudice. If a person
consider all the facts and then decide, will results in perfect negotiation (Business
insider, 2016).
 Looking for single outcome: Searching for only single best outcome results in
exclusion of other best possibilities present around, so to be a good negotiator one
should possess the ability of considering all the possibilities.

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 Looking for fixed expedient: This is all about looking for fixed expedient or pie.
This is the assumption under which a person thinks that, more he/she will get from
deal but less is offered to him/her. Making this type of consideration will become the
obstacle in negotiation.
 Involved in solving their own problems only: According to this issue, person is only
concerned with their own problem, and want other party to solve their own problem
 Bargaining mix: Defining of the issues in a negotiation by the parties is called
bargaining mix. Strategies are to be formulated by the negotiator on the basis of
bargaining mix. Bargaining mix comprises of: Positive bargaining range, negative
bargaining range, the best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA), Pareto
frontier and, efficiency.
4. Interests: Interests are the concerns, desires, fears and needs that forces particular
person to be negotiator or force him/her to bargain. Interest is the only desire that
forces a person to have negotiation (MWI, 2017).
5. BATNA: Best alternative to a negotiated agreement is the solution that will be
achieved through dealing with different people. BATNA provides best alternative that
insists the person to walk away, if present deal doesn’t seems good.
6. Target point or limit: Limit is the point beyond which one does not want to extend.
Target point is the exact goal of a person that he/she is trying to reach through
negotiation. Resistance point or bottom line is the point above and below the target
point; beyond these limits deal will be cancelled. This is the limit where employee
fixed his salary range, and also fixed his resistance point (Fatima, Kraus &
Wooldridge, 2014).
7. Understanding of opposite party’s resistance point, is very crucial in dealing with
him/her, and helps in formulation of strategies and tactics that can be used to reach the
negotiation. In salary negotiation resistance point of employer is above and below the
limit fixed by him (Intersol, 2014).
8. The outcome of the negotiation decided at the beginning of the negotiation. Few
persons set desired negotiation target or opening bid in the beginning of the target,
which gives clear view of the outcome of the negotiation.
9. Social factors and interpersonal factors affect the decision making during
negotiations. Social context in negotiation between parties forces parties to meet their
own goal alone through negotiation. Social context influences the negotiators decision
making and judgement.

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10. Best tips to negotiate “what to say, how to say”
 Ask the question you want to ask without ant fear
 Listen carefully to other
 Always ready with homework
 Always aim high and expecting for best
 Always focus on other side
 Always give something for consideration only
 Don’t take other party’s issue seriously
CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above that, planning, goals and strategies plays a very
important role in negotiation. Before going for any negotiation planning is very important.
For a good negotiation one should follow ten step process, explained above. Understanding
of one’s issue and counter party issue is very important should be there, that gives clear view
of the outcome. So to be successful in negotiation one should follow the best process that
results in achievement of target point of negotiation.

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REFERENCES
Business insider. (2016). Steps to negotiate. Retrieved from:
https://www.businessinsider.in/7-steps-to-negotiate-a-higher-salary-from-a-28-year-
old-who-made-a-30000-leap/articleshow/51476695.cms
Business queensland. (2018). Negotiation. Retrieved from:
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/marketing-sales/managing-
relationships/negotiating/process
Fatima, S., Kraus. S., & Wooldridge, M. (2014). Principles of negotiation (illustrated) UK:
Cambridge University Press
Intersol. (2014). Principle of successful negotiation. Retrieved from: https://intersol.ca/4-
principles-of-successful-negotiation/
MWI. (2017). What are interest. Retrieved from: https://www.mwi.org/what-are-interests/
Negotiation experts. (2018). BATNA. Retrieved from:
https://www.negotiations.com/articles/best-alternative/