Negotiations are happening around us every day. For any business, it is important to be prepared and understand business communication and negotiation. Part of this is being aware of the various key “breaking points” that may be reached during a negotiation.
The key points that are going to be discussed in this article influence the art of business negotiation. Steve Gates, the author of The Negotiation Book, lays out three breaking points that play a crucial role in the negotiation process.
1) The Point at which you have other options to take
You should never take the first offer you receive. Regardless of the buyer or seller, you should never be too quick to accept the offer that lands on the table first. This is due to the fact that your counterpart could either be lowballing you or on the contrary, asking for a ridiculous deal that would both result in a negative outcome for yourself. One must keep in mind that there are other options at hand. Learning how to decide which option is best for your personal position can be enhanced through practicing negotiation skills, accessible through sites like The Negotiation Society, who boast over 20,000 members with access to educational webinars and videos for help with good negotiation practice. While it may not be the best option, or for that matter, the option you originally wanted, you must know when this point is reached and how to go from there. Be prepared before you come into any negotiation with the mindset that you are not always going to walk away fully content; you may have to settle for a less popular deal that benefits both parties. It is essential to bring forth several options to the table so that you don’t end up empty handed or in a deadlock situation. Be open to new deals while at the same time standing your ground in order to prevent situations like deadlocks from happening.
2) The Point at which deal is not viable
In some negotiations, you may find yourself at a point where the options that have been brought forward are just not feasible. Not every negotiation goes the way we want it to. There are times where after all the deals have been laid out, you find yourself believing that no deal is sufficient enough for what you are trying to accomplish. This is the second major breaking point which is more common than not. You can only do so much preparation prior to entering a negotiation. One cannot simply predict whether or not a negotiation will end up like this, however, it is up to you to take this into consideration and make a decision from there. Simply put, in some negotiations the minimum you are willing to accept is above the maximum the other party is willing to pay and hence no satisfactory price for both parties could ever be accomplished.
3) The Point at which you walk rather than do business
After all of the options have been exhausted, you will find yourself in a predicament. Once you have reached the point of a deal not being reasonable, the next and final breaking point is deciding whether or not you will take the deal or say no and walk. If all options lead to you coming out worse off, it is probably in your best interest to refrain from making the deal and walk away. While this is never easy, it is a decision that one will find themselves in a lot. The end goal is to come to an agreeable solution; however, you must have self-worth and know when a deal would be affecting you negatively. More times than not, when you walk away from the deal at hand, the other party will chase you down in hopes that you will either change your mind or work out a solution that will benefit both of you. Do not be sorry for walking away. Make the decision firmly and walk away with the courage to do so. Your counterpart will see that you have nothing to lose and will more than likely chase you down and offer a more agreeable solution than the one that turned you away. Walking away isn’t always the best option as no one wins in some cases, but it is sometimes necessary so that you don’t agree to a deal that is going to hurt you in the end.
Be strong- and know that not every negotiation is going to go the way you want it to.
