Negotiate Better.

Better Negotiating Produces Better Terms and Better Relationships.

We’re conditioned from birth to compromise and to believe that compromise is negotiating. It is not. From an early age, we learn to think that we should each lay out what we want and split it in half. We equate compromise with negotiation and it leads us to bargain.  Bargaining is not negotiating.

When we compromise too soon, we may miss more creative solutions.  Even worse, we may reach a solution that satisfies each party the least and leaves value to either party (or even both parties!) on the table. 

In fact, we often describe “a good compromise” as one that dissatisfies both parties equally. 

The very idea of compromise assumes that both parties can’t be fully satisfied—one party must give-up something to the other.  Sometimes situations are that way.  Many aren’t.  A skillful negotiator knows that compromise is the last effort, not the first.  And that sometimes “acting dumb” and asking questions can surface new information that points to more creative solutions that are better for both parties.

Our Successful Negotiating Skills course teaches the tools and techniques negotiators need to find the best outcomes—and avoid compromising too soon. 

Successful Negotiating Skills is now also available via ZEHREN♦FRIEDMAN’s Virtual Classroom—powerful, virtual skill-building that duplicates the in-person classroom experience. 

Principled Persuasion is the key to more effective negotiating. 

Using Principled Persuasion, the negotiator recognizes the legitimate needs and aspirations of her counter-party, but is still able to pursue her own interests with energy and determination.

She knows that creative collaboration is a much more powerful tool than stubborn resistance, since many negotiations are best approached as problem-solving exercises rather than contests of strength and will.

Successful Negotiating Skills is a program designed for anyone who negotiates internally or externally. Concentrating on negotiating processes and behaviors, we provide a variety of tools designed to achieve successful outcomes. Exercises and role-plays give everyone a chance to practice what they learn and can be based on the participants’ own work situations.

Successful Negotiation Skills is designed for those involved in the purchase or sale of goods or professional services; project managers, budget directors, anyone responsible for the allocation of scarce resources; managers or individual contributors who depend on others to meet their objectives; managers and specialists in labor negotiations.

Prior to the seminar, participants complete a Negotiating Style Profile, which reveals their inclination to use five different negotiating styles: Defeat; Collaborate; Accommodate; Withdraw; Compromise.

During the seminar, steps and techniques are suggested for each stage of a negotiation: Planning; Opening; Discovery; Devising Solutions; Reaching Agreement; and Implementation.

The typical format is two days for up to 16 participants. Everyone takes part in at least four negotiations.

Learning objectives for this course include…

  • How to make appropriate use of all five negotiating styles
  • Why collaboration consistently produces the best results and best relationships, and how to become a more consistent collaborator
  • How setting “stretch” targets can improve negotiation results
  • How to avoid giving up more than necessary in order to reach an agreement
  • The enormous power that comes from understanding the other party’s alternatives to this negotiation
  • Why compromise is sometimes not a good idea
  • How to use and respond to negotiating tactics
  • Important do’s and don’ts for making concessions
  • Why planning is an essential part of the negotiating process
  • Finding the best possible combination in multi-issue negotiations