The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

428 / DEVELOPING YOUR TECHNIQUE

Negotiating as a team

Deciding when to use a team

Some negotiations demand a diverse

set of abilities. In addition to sound

negotiation and psychosocial skills

you may need specific technical

expertise, for example, in areas of law,

drafting joint ventures, or the planning

system. You may need to exercise

leverage on your counterpart through

the use of PR, or require a keen

appreciation of politics and strategy to

identify the multiple stakeholders in

the negotiation and figure out their

interests. If you lack any of these

abilities, you will probably benefit

from the collective wisdom

of a team.

Many business situations are too complex for a solo negotiator to be

fully informed about every aspect of the deal. In such cases, working in

a team may give better results, though this requires a high degree of

internal coordination and a smooth flow of information between members.

You may need

specific technical

expertise, for

example, in areas

of law, drafting

joint ventures,

or the planning

system

US_428-429_Negotiating_team_1.indd 428 30/05/16 3:07 pm