Negotiation Strategies and Tactics

Negotiation aims to achieve two main goals: fostering cooperative relationships and securing tangible economic benefits. Outcomes can range from 'win-win' (both achieve goals), 'win-lose' (one succeeds, the other fails), 'lose-lose' (neither achieves goals), or no result. The optimal outcome is when both parties achieve their goals and further develop in the future.

Various negotiation styles exist, each leading to different outcomes. An 'avoidance' style often results in 'lose-lose'. 'Accommodating' usually leads to 'win-lose' as it prioritizes relationships over economic benefits. 'Competitive' focuses solely on economic gain, potentially damaging relationships. 'Analytical' aims for a 'win-win'. The most common and effective is the 'integrative' style, which balances both economic interests and relationships.

Soft negotiation strategy is cooperative and defensive, characterized by friendly communication, avoiding conflict, and making concessions to maintain good relationships. Its primary goal is relationship building, not economic gain. This approach involves trusting partners, being friendly, proposing concessions, and quickly reaching agreements. It's suitable when parties have good relationships, equality, and no fierce competition, such as in job recruitment where terms are often non-negotiable.

In contrast to soft negotiation, hard negotiation relies on firm stances, aiming to overpower the opponent through competition and aggression. Parties push for the most favorable terms, often taking extreme and stubborn positions, leading to prolonged, resource-intensive discussions, strained relationships, and a high risk of failure. This strategy is applicable when one party holds a dominant position, has a competitive nature, or when conflicting interests seem irreconcilable, like when seeking to become a distributor for a powerful brand like Apple.

A more optimal approach is the principled or hybrid negotiation strategy, developed by Harvard professors. This strategy separates the people from the problem, maintains relationships while focusing on interests, values both parties' interests, and combines offensive and defensive tactics. Key aspects include separating personal emotions and stances from the actual issues, focusing on mutual interests rather than fixed positions, generating multiple options to reach a common agreement, and using objective criteria for arguments and proposals.

Negotiation tactics are creative applications of skills and tricks to achieve negotiation goals. Common tactics in various fields, including business and diplomacy, include 'fight and talk', 'red herring', 'time pressure', 'home ground advantage', 'nitpicking', 'good cop/bad cop', 'leveraging threats', 'provocation', 'luring the tiger out of the mountains', and emotional appeals. An example of 'nitpicking' in business is when one party brings up past incidents or mistakes to pressure the opponent, which can be effective given businesses' concern for brand and reputation.