Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more parties, with the intent of coming to a mutually agreed solution, because each party has something the other wants. Successful negotiation is an art form that comes naturally to some, but must be learned by most.

1. The Art of Negotiation

2. Negotiating has become part of our daily life, it is an especially important skill to the
people in business, sale, marketing and dispute settlement.
Many people have a misconception about negotiating, which is either all or nothing.
However, with strong negotiating skill and right frame of mind, a win - win situation
for both parties can be attained.
Since both parties want to win, what is the best way to proceed?
Here are four steps:

3. Preparation

4. Preparation
 The whole concept of preparation is about having a strategy in
order so that you know about the party you’re negotiating with,
in order to leverage on your strengths and weaknesses.
 It is important to also think about what you want to achieve
from the process & what would make sense to reach desirable
outcome.
 During the course of negotiation, the goal may change by
unforeseen actions by either party.
 It’s important to visualise the scenarios to think about how you
would handle each of them.

5. Preparation
Action Steps
A. Plan the deal that you will be
excited with, the target you will be
content with and the deal that you
will walk away.
B. See the negotiable and the non -
negotiable.
C. If possible, have a conversation
with associates who have dealt
with this person before, grab the
chance to gather information and
styles that you may be able to use
to your advantage.
Tips
1. Make sure you are dealing with
only the party who is fully
empowered to make the
agreement.
2. Have a price target or specific goal
which is realistic.
3. Put yourself in their shoes and
anticipate the conditions or
counter offers from the other
party.

6. Opening
Offer

7. Opening Offer
 When both parties have enough information, then the negotiation
starts with someone offering an exchange.
 The offer may be accepted, rejected or trigger a counter offer.
 The secret of a good opening offer is to be firm and clear.
 To retain credibility, the offer should be realistic and acceptable by
both parties without short changing one another.
 In this phase, you need to disclose everything you want, but in a
reasonable way which can be acceptable by the other party to reach
an agreement.

8. Opening Offer
Action Steps
A. Make your first offer bold and
aggressive, but not ridiculous,
to give buffer for negotiation.
B. Have something which is ‘nice
to have’ to give away without
hurting your position.
C. Watch for clues such as body
language, speech patterns
and reactions to what you say.
Tips
1. Ask questions. (Don’t ask,
don't get.)
2. Establish a strong foundation
by demonstrating your
knowledge and expertise.
3. Talk less, listen more to find
the leverage.

9. Bargain

10. Bargain
 The heart of many negotiations is bargaining, which is the
adjustment of what is being offered until both parties are satisfied
with the arrangement.
 An important aspect of bargaining is trading which may be about
individual items or the whole package.
 It may become heated especially if the parties have a win - lose
attitude.
 In an ideal and more collaborative negotiation, parties should show
more concern for one another but carefully seek for inequitable
deal.

11. Bargain
Action Steps
A. Trade one element for another.
E.g: Lower price for a more
relaxed schedule.
B. Maintain Posture by staying
firm and clear.
C. Present your offers in writing
to avoid misunderstanding.
Tips
1. Aim for win - win solution
2. Have a list of tradable items as
your bargaining chips
3. The options from you shouldn’t
be more than 3.
4. Keep your acceptable deal in
mind where you are prepared
to suspend or walk away.

12. Closing The
Deal

13. Closing The Deal
 The closing phase requires a sense of timing, creativity, keen
awareness and the ability to anticipate the other party’s moves
down the line.
 Always have the endgame in mind and move towards the stage
of final handshake.
 A handshake is a powerful effect in preventing people from
backing out.
 Subsequently, strengthen the end of the deal with formal
contract, especially in commercial setting.

14. Closing The deal
Action Steps
A. Once an agreement is
reached, move towards
final handshake.
B. Formalise the deal by
having an attorney draft a
contract soon after
negotiation process is
complete and make certain
that it is signed by all
pertaining parties in a
timely manner.
Tips
1. No-deal is better than a bad
deal.
2. Plan for the worst.
3. Prepare yourself for the last
minute tricks by the other
party.
4. Beware of relaxing too
early before the contract is
signed by all the pertaining
parties.

15. Thank You
References:
The Art Of Negotiation, Chris Merrington, 2011
www.entrepreneur.com
www.investopedia.com