Negotiation

            Negotiation encompasses a dialogue aimed at producing an agreement on a course of action or bargaining with the intention of acquiring a collective or individual advantage. Negotiations are utilized widely in business especially during the marketing stage (Cellich & Jain, 2004). In this case, a trained negotiator is bestowed with the role of negotiating with potential customers with the goal of making a sale that is satisfactory both to the organization and with the customer in question. Negotiations are utilized especially by the sales people who have to make a surmountable number of sales to earn a good salary. The relationship that exists between a negotiator and the customer is an interdependent relationship, as both possess the motivation of making a business transaction.

During the sale of a car, a sales person is prepared for hard negotiations with the customer because both of them have conflict of interest but have to come to a consensus for the sale to be sealed. Being a car sales person, I was bestowed with the role of negotiating with customers with the aim of acquiring the highest profit from different cars while at the same time assuring the customers that they were getting a good bargain (Coltri, 2004). On a particular day, a customer came into the office with the intention of purchasing a car but he was not sure of what he wanted. I began by welcoming him to augment his comfortability. The next part was to take him round the dealership while explaining the features of the different cars on sale. He settled on a van that could accommodate his whole family as they were planning to go on a vacation.

The customer possessed a hard bargainer personality hence I had to brace myself for a hard negotiation. The first price I stated to the customer made him gape at me as he felt that it was too high for him, yet the car was not a sophisticated model (Lewicki, 2005). I tried to reason with him by stating that the price we were offering was reasonable compared to the fact that his whole family would benefit from the car. He remained adamant and I suggested that he states his price. He stated a price lower than the allowed price for the car so I had to argue with him to bring the price higher due to the benefits he would acquire from it. I even started making similarities with the cards of some wealthy people I knew who owned the same type of car yet they had bought it at a price that was too high for comprehension. This made the customer to pause for a few minutes to comprehend the information I had provided him with. He suggested I lower my initial price and I lowered it to a price higher than the recommended price.

Instead of arguing with him, I capitalized on reasoning with him while at the same time using a respectful language. I did not do all the talking but I gave him time to talk and ask questions. I answered his questions satisfactorily, which gave him the confidence that I was right about the fact that my price was gain. At last, he agreed to purchase the car at my second price and promised to come back if he needed another one because I had treated him as a respectable person. I made a better sale that day than I expected but I had to employ different skills to enhance my success. Communication is a fundamental piece in negotiation. Conversely, the personalities of the parties involved in a negotiation play a large part in the direction that the agreement will head to. This depicts that the factors that enhance the success of a negotiation do not take place during the negotiations but before the negotiations.

Negotiations can be identified as forms of interpersonal communication hence all the factors that augment the success of interpersonal communication have to be incorporated into the negotiation process (Lewicki, et al, 2008). Both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication have to be utilized especially when resolving conflicts in negotiations. Being well adorned physically is one form of non-verbal communication to the customer with the aim of encouraging them to like the negotiator. Welcoming the customer is a verbal form of giving a sense of conformability. The customer is given the chance to talk to ensure that effective communication is taking place between the negotiator and the customer (Cellich & Jain, 2004). The type of customer care provided to the customer is one form of non-verbal communication pointing to the fact that the customer is important to the company therefore they will be provided with a product that is their moneys’ worth. A negotiation may sometimes culminate into an argument and it is the role of the negotiator to change the course of the argument by giving the customer the leeway to terminate the argument consequently ending up in a consensus.

The difference in personalities may steer the bargainers to behave in a different way. For a negotiation to be successful, both the negotiator and the customer have to understand the personality of the other to some extent to ensure that their personalities do not clash consequently culminating into the termination of the negotiation process. Some people may have accommodative personalities while others might possess the hard-driving personalities (Coltri, 2004). Two people with a hard-driving personality might be unable to come into a consensus during a negotiation process but this depends on the aims of the company during the negotiation process. A negotiator should try to incorporate his natural personality during the negotiations as pretending might have adverse consequences especially when the other party realizes this aspect. A natural personality enables the negotiator to be more comfortable with his work therefore driving the negotiation into a reasonable bargain. Although the individuals in a negotiation have different personalities, they should work towards compromising in order to come up with a solution to their conflict.

Negotiations are a vital tool in the maintenance of the success of any business. Without negotiations, a business cannot manage to keep pricing affordable, acquire higher profits and manage its expenses. Negotiations have to be carried out in a certain order to ensure that the conflicts arrived at during the process are solved with ease while at the same time driving towards an agreement that is bent on the success of a transaction (Lewicki, et al, 2008). Communication and personality are two fundamental tools in negotiations that are aimed at enhancing the simplicity of the whole process. Negotiation are considered to be interpersonal relationships therefore all the factors incorporate into making interpersonal communications successful should be added to the negotiation process. People may posses different personalities but they should understand each other’s personalities to augment the solving of the conflicts that may arise during negotiations. In conclusion, negotiations should be taken seriously and the people involved should learn to compromise to augment the success of the whole process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Cellich, C., & Jain, S., C. (2004). Global Business Negotiations: A Practical Guide. Mason, OH: Thomson/South-Western.

Coltri, L., S. (2004). Conflict Diagnosis and Alternative Dispute Resolution. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Lewicki, R. (2005). Negotiations: Readings, Exercises, Cases. New York, NY: Irwin Professional Pub.

Lewicki, R. J., Saunders, D. M., Barry, B., & Lewicki, R. J. (2008). Negotiation. Princeton, NJ: Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic.