You might offer a lower price on goods and services, for example, to get the contract, albeit at a smaller profit.
These and other tactics share a fatal flaw, says the magazine: the mistaken idea that any agreement is better than no agreement. In other words, most business schools teach that compromise is the way to go. „This leads to making bad deals, giving up too much through compromise, and losing one’s advantage.“
Here are three skills business schools should be teaching:
Clearing away assumptions
A sales executive is meeting with a prospective client who is considering switching suppliers. After researching what the current vendor charges, an unskilled negotiator might assume that the client is looking to cut costs, and therefore simply offers lower prices. A skilled negotiator goes in with zero assumptions and discovers that the client is really looking for a supplier with better service and prompt delivery. The unskilled negotiator’s assumption killed the deal. Lesson: The student of negotiation needs to realize that he or she knows nothing until the other party has provided the key information.
Understanding how decisions are made
No matter how much logic, reason, and facts one uses to persuade one’s opponents, they will not agree to a proposal unless it solves their problem. Only once negotiators understand what’s hurting their opponents can they show how their proposal will help ease their pain.
Asking smart questions
Preparation and research are important, but their main purpose is to help the negotiator ask the right questions. Business schools should teach students how to ask well-crafted questions that get the other party talking and revealing.