We all negotiate every day whatever we do...

In business, the negotiation is a core skill for anyone who has to purchase and sell products and services. The familiar sales model does in fact hold plenty of relevant instruction for how to negotiate well but by using the principles of NLP you can be quite clearer about how you are negotiating and how you can get to a satisfactory end result. There are a number of simple techniques that are used with neuro linguistic programming (NLP) that help you ensure that you become even more successful in business.

Sales negotiations work in two ways. In the external real world, and in the customer’s internal world where they make pictures, listen to self talk, and create feelings and emotions. Most accountants know how to negotiate in the real world, but how many do you think can use powerful NLP negotiation techniques to negotiate in the internal world of the buyer’s mind?

In these series of two articles I will summarize some of the powerful tools that NLP has to offer in the area of negotiations.

Negotiation techniques are used when there is a discussion between two or more people with separate objectives for a common situation. This happens all the time as you try and close a sale. Imagine what an advantage you would have if you focused on what the buyer’s real objectives are, and how they arrived at them!

First Powerful NLP tool – Perceptual positions

The classic idea of a win - win situation is almost inherent in the way you negotiate. NLP looks at the negotiation process from three points of view.

This powerful NLP process helps you better understand yourself, the other person, and an objective viewpoint. With this process, you first see a situation from your perspective.

Next, you imagine stepping into the other person and viewing the situation from their perspective. This second viewpoint is that of the other party in the negotiation. You need to gain both knowledge and feeling about the position they are in and the sort of outcome they are looking for. Sometimes your projected outcome will be very compatible with the other persons. Other time they will not be close at all and you will need all your negotiating skills to arrive at a mutually agreeable deal.

Finally, you float outside yourself and view the situation from a third party perspective. This third viewpoint is to try and look at your deal or arrangement from a completely objective standpoint. This can be very difficult where strong emotions are involved. You need to see from the outside looking in whether the expected result works for both parties and ends up with achieving the desired end result.

The goal of this powerful NLP technique is understanding and wisdom and you do this by simply “walking in the other person’s shoes”. As part of the NLP Certification training, I demonstrate this technique by having a person on stage and by walking him/her through the process. The results at the end of the process are astonishing! We had people who had negative feelings released by just going through the process of stepping into the other person’s shoes and understanding their viewpoint; something that they never thought it was possible before.

This process helps you understand the motives and thinking of others. It also changes your perspective so you can see other alternatives, options, and ways of evaluating a situation. In negotiation, it helps you understand what you can realistically get from an interaction with someone. To sell and negotiate effectively, you must understand the thinking processes, motives, and emotions of the other parties in the negotiation. Unfortunately, most people focus only on themselves in negotiations.

Second Powerful NLP tool - Create well–formed outcomes

Be careful what you ask for because you may get it! This is getting what you want and then discovering it is not what you really wanted! This basic process is easily and often overlooked.

For example, mergers and acquisitions are very common in today’s business world. Most mergers and acquisitions do not meet expectations because the acquiring company overestimates the value of the acquired company. Because of their unjustifiable optimism and enthusiasm to make the deal, acquiring companies often inaccurately evaluate the worth of the acquired company.

Creating well–formed outcomes is a foundation of NLP. By asking a series of questions, you create well–formed outcomes and clarify what you really want. The well–formed outcome process helps you distinguish between what you are asking for and what you really want. The process, also, defines sensory specific outcomes so you understand how you will know if you get what you want. Finally, the process helps you figure out the steps for getting what you want.

This area has been covered in one of my previous articles so I will not expand on this here. I would rather refer you to the Goal setting article in one of the previous issues where you can find out more about this powerful NLP process.

Third powerful NLP tool – flexibility

In NLP we share the belief that: “there is no failure; there is only feedback”. What this means is that if you don’t get the result you are expecting then you should change your approach and try again. You should keep being flexible and changing your approach until you get your desired outcome. Some tips about being flexible in the context of negotiations are listed below:

• Assess: Consider situation and balance of power. What is going to be needed for a win/win outcome? How much do you need the deal – how much do they need it? What have you got to offer that is unique?
• Make time: Planning and preparation is key – create time for it. Do not be rushed – do not arrive unprepared - the party feeling under most pressure will often make the wrong moves.
• Innovate: Remember, it is not just “their” problem – if a genuine negotiation is to take place it is a joint one. Look of different ways of approaching the situation.
• Generate options: Put your package together – consider all the tradable items – those you want and those you can give. The more options the better.
• Integrity: Remember as professional accountants we do have ethical rules we need to follow. Good negotiations will normally be taking place in the context of an on-going business relationship and partnership. It does not matter what others may do – operate with integrity and be true to yourself and your values. You will get more good quality deals in the long run.
• Get before you give: Trade well – ask for what you want BEFORE you give!
• Aim for win/win: and if you cannot get that, leave the door open for another time!

Use these NLP processes wisely, and you will avoid troubled waters. These processes help keep you from making decisions based upon excessive optimism, greed, distrust, or insufficient information. In the next article I will give you more NLP tools in the context of negotiations.