Dear Clients and Friends,

Many of us get frustrated when our carefully formulated proposals are outright rejected by our negotiation counterparts.  Join me as I explore the reasons for this and offer an effective approach to getting our proposals accepted, in this April  '16 edition of N EGOTIATION STRATEGIES. 

 

For your reading convenience, we also distill this into a brief lessons learned at the end of the column.

 

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With Best Wishes 

Sincerely,

Raphael Lapin

When a proposal is presented prematurely, there is likely to be what Harvard has termed a reactive devaluation. That is a devaluation of the proposal which is entirely reactionary and with no real cognitive or substantive  reason. The recipient is suspicious of the proposal only because it is presented before the negotiations have matured, trust developed and a relationship established.

In some negotiations, particularly those related to disputes, there can be an emotional barrier to resolution which will block any premature proposal attempt. Parties are still dealing with the emotional aspects of the dispute and are just not emotionally ready to settle.

Further, there may be cognitive barriers, for example, in negotiating the purchase of a business, the buyer may believe the business is worth less than its true value while the seller may believe it is worth more. If a proposal is presented before these cognitive differences are dealt with, the proposal will be rejected. 

To avoid the premature proposal trap, an effective negotiation process must be implemented. This means engaging in productive dialogue and effective information development before any solutions or proposals can be explored.

During this phase of the negotiation, emotions need to be allowed to be expressed; concerns, reservations and needs articulated, exchanged and understood; and cognitive differences bridged. Besides building a strong foundation of knowledge and understanding for a mutually acceptable solution to emerge, this phase is crucial for trust and relationships to be established. It should be considered the core and most important phase of good negotiation practice. 

When this phase is conducted proficiently, sound proposals will be collaboratively shaped and they will be cogent, salient, sustainable, durable and ultimately embraced by all.

LESSONS LEARNED