Common Business Negotiation Styles

Common Business Negotiation Styles

Negotiations are a very important and vital part of the business world. Ask any business owner, and they will tell you that they are involved in negotiations on some level every single day. Negotiating is not something you are born with; it is a skill that is acquired and a skill that needs to be honed with years and years of practice.

There are different styles of negotiation that you can use. Remember to pick the style of negotiation that suits you, your personality and your company.

Adversarial Negotiation

This is the kind of negotiation which uses a defensive strategy. What happens in this kind of negotiating style is that each side takes a stand and defends it. Where business deals are concerned, using this kind of negotiating allows room to maneuver where prices are concerned.

Typical to this type of negotiation, any form of movement is kept low or non-existent until the latter part of the negotiation process. Tact and trust are a big part of the adversarial style of negotiations.

Use this kind of negotiation style only if you can pull off being the more aggressive party and are looking for only a short-term relationship with the other party.

Cooperative Negotiation

This type of negotiation is a milder approach towards negotiating. In this style, each of the negotiators understands and accepts the rules and feelings of the opposite party. This style of negotiations' objective is fairness – and being reasonable is of the utmost importance. Trust is an important part of this style of negotiation and bad behavior is discouraged and can have negative consequences.

The reason this style of negotiation is so popular is because it is more open, promotes communication and helps in problem solving. There is more room for cooperation in this style; no party takes a fixed stand and defends it as in the case of adversarial negotiations. This style is used most commonly because both parties come out winners.

So if you are ever put in the position to negotiate, choose your style wisely.

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