The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

392 / SETTING YOUR STYLE

Building relationships

Making contact

Effective negotiators know that, in the

long run, good relationships are best

built through face-to-face interaction

rather than by talking on the telephone

or corresponding via email. Where

possible, try to create opportunities to

socialize with the other party before the

negotiations begin. This is not to talk

about the negotiations and “discover

secrets,” but rather to get to know the

other person better and connect with

them on a human level. The atmosphere

of the negotiation process may be very

different if you are not meeting your

counterpart for the first time at the

negotiation table.

Making a personal connection

Today, more and more negotiators from

the West value what Asian, Arab, and

Latin societies recognized thousands

of years ago—the high value of good

relationships. Experienced negotiators

invest in building relationships because

good relationships “oil” the negotiation

process and make it more efficient. For

example, former US Secretary of State

James Baker has stated that he has seen

this occur time and again—that once

negotiators have a good relationship,

even the most difficult and conflict-

inducing issues have been resolved,

simply because the negotiators were

more transparent and flexible in their

dealings with each other.

Contract negotiators are typically task-oriented and pragmatic, tend

to focus on negotiating specific issues, and do not invest in building

relationships. Relationship negotiators, in contrast, invest first in

building good relationships before negotiating on specific issues.

Effective negotiators need to be skilled at both approaches.

Case study

BEING PREPARED

When US businessman Robert

Johnson was looking for financial

investment to enable him to create

a new cable channel, Black

Entertainment Television, he did his

homework. Before pitching the idea

to John C. Malone—one of the

industry’s biggest players—he

learned about Malone’s business

philosophy of believing in the

entrepreneurial spirit and of

individuals helping themselves

rather than relying on others.

When they met, Johnson was

able to connect with Malone by

highlighting their shared business

values. This similarity provided a

positive start for their successful

business negotiations.

US_392-393_Building_relationships.indd 392 31/05/16 5:29 pm