Business Spotlight 08.2019

BUSINESS SKILLS 6/2019 Business Spotlight 47

come about

[)kVm E(baUt]

, zustande kommen

compromise

[(kQmprEmaIz]

, einen Kompromiss

eingehen

fallback [(fO:lbÄk]

, Rückzug;

hier: Alternativ-

hold back

[)hEUld (bÄk]

, sich zurückhalten

implication

[)ImplI(keIS&n]

, Auswirkung

natural [(nÄtS&rEl]

, hier: geboren

outcome [(aUtkVm]

, Ergebnis

out there [(aUt DeE]

, hier: zur Verfügung

stehend

perceive sth.

[pE(si:v]

, etw. empfinden

push [pUS]

, hier: mit Nachdruck

agieren

put oneself in sb.’s shoes

[)pUt wVn)self In

)sVmbEdiz (Su:z]

, sich in jmdn. hinein-

versetzen

resolve sth. [ri(zQlv]

, etw. lösen

stakeholder

[(steIk)hEUldE]

, Beteiligte(r)

terms and conditions

[)t§:mz En kEn(dIS&nz]

, Geschäfts-, Auftrags-

bedingungen

time frame [(taIm freIm]

, Zeitrahmen

triangle [(traIÄNg&l]

, Dreieck

walk-away position

[()wO:k EweI pE)zIS&n]

, hier: Punkt, an dem

man aus einer Verhandlung

aussteigt

Neppare: As a way of helping my stu-
dents specify the context of a negotiation,
I use the acronym SPIN from Neil Rack-
ham’s book Spin Selling. The “S” stands for
“situation”.
Taylor: That’s the context of the negotia-
tion — the reasons why the negotiation
has come about.

Neppare: Right. The “P” stands for
“problem” — the specific problem to be
resolved by this negotiation. And the
“I” stands for “implica-
tions” — what happens
if there is no agreement.
Taylor: Knowing the
implications for your
business partner can
give you strength in the
negotiation process.

Neppare: The “N”
stands for “needs” —
what do you hope to get
out of the negotiation?
Taylor: The SPIN ap-
proach certainly helps
to make the context of the negotiation
clear. The next step should be to prepare
for the negotiation itself. I use a tool I call
the “preparation triangle”. And I believe
that you use something very similar.

Neppare: What does your triangle look
like?
Taylor: Like this:

Optimum result

Walk-away position BATNA

Neppare: That’s very similar to my ideas.
You specify the perfect outcome for your
side. Then you decide why and when you
would walk away with no result. And, fi-
nally, you try to define a BATNA — a “best
alternative to a negotiated agreement”.
Taylor: You have to be prepared to walk
away from a negotiation, and a BATNA,

an alternative, can give you the strength

to do just that.

Neppare: A BATNA might be an alter-

native business partner, a different-sized

deal or different terms and conditions.

The stronger your BATNA is, the stronger

you are in the negotiation.

Taylor: Within the triangle’s three param-

eters, you can then decide on your various

fallback positions — those areas where

you are prepared to compromise.

Neppare: The more

clearly you can describe

your requirements, the

better. Your goals need

to be very specific and

measurable. This makes

it easier for you to judge

whether they are being

met or not.

Taylor: The goals

should also be per-

ceived as acceptable

within that particular

business context.

Neppare: And they need to be realistic,

with a clearly defined time frame and

deadlines.

Taylor: Your business partner will be

planning in a similar way, of course. But

the more you can put yourself in their

shoes, the more likely you are to find areas

of agreement, especially if you have built

a good working relationship.

Neppare: And you need to remember

that in the organization of the person

sitting opposite you, there are several

other people who are stakeholders in the

process. Often, you will need to give your

business partner the arguments they can

use when selling the agreement within

their own organization.

Taylor: That’s very true.

Neppare: Some people seem to have a

sixth sense when negotiating. They know

when to push, when to hold back, when to

speak and when to listen. They are natural

negotiators.

➻

What’s your challenge?

Would you like to

have a conversation

with Ken Taylor about

your current work

challenges? If so, send

an email with your

name, company and

the subject you would

like to discuss to

business.trainer@

spotlight-verlag.de

In each issue, we will

choose one reader who

will talk to Ken, and

the dialogue will be

published in Business

Spotlight.

“ Some people

seem to

have a sixth

sense when

negotiating”

AUDIO

Listen to more tips

from Ken Taylor on

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Audio. To order, go

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Taylor: Unfortunately, most of us are not

like that. But negotiation skills can be

learned. There are lots of tools out there

that can help us become good, competent

negotiators.