Tuesday, April 17, 2018

The Art of Closing



Introduction
Negotiation is often seen as an event rather than a deliberate orchestrated progression. As a result, many negotiators will push offers and proposals prematurely, before sufficient information has been developed and adequate trust has been built. Proposals at this stage are typically rejected out of hand even though the proposals may actually be good ones.

In truth, it is only after a productive exchange of information has occurred, a profound exploration of each side’s concerns and needs has been achieved, and the parties genuinely feel deeply heard and understood, that the proposal phase of the negotiation can begin.

But even then, there is a refined art and science as to how this proposal phase needs to be conducted so as to attain efficient and optimal results. In this column I will share a powerful technique for the proposal and closing part of the negotiation.

The Conventional Approach
Before introducing this technique, let us consider the conventional approach and it’s pitfalls.

Typically, a party to a negotiation will offer a single-point proposal or offer. For example a job candidate might suggest a salary of $80,000, or a prospective buyer may offer a home seller $500,000 for the purchase of his home. The other party will usually push back with a counter offer, and the bargaining standoff begins. This will end in either impasse or in a compromise in which potential value has been sacrificed and a degree of resentment might even have been spawned.

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