By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
Benjamin Franklin
It’s a known fact: negotiation is like sport! Every success is based on training and appropriate preparation. Yes, this takes time and effort to achieve it, but ultimately you will be rewarded with better results and improve your skills. From our experience we understood that for important discussions, negotiations and meetings we always need to prepare ourselves through intensive research on our interlocutor and their company beforehand this what we are dong actually in Profiling services.
How to do a client or company profiling
Before any negotiations, ask yourself the questions in the following checklist and answer them systematically, being as detailed and specific as possible:
GOALS
- What are your goals?
- What are your objectives regarding the content and on a personal level?
- What is the minimum that you want to achieve?
- What is your maximum target?
- Are your goals SMART, i.e. specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic, time bound?
- What is your best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA)?
THE PARTNER
- Where does your negotiating partner stand?
- What do you know about your negotiating partner (name, position, hobbies, preferences, character, etc.)?
- What do you know, where appropriate, of the background of those you are dealing with (for example, of a company: its size, revenue, business development, history, objectives, market position, image, philosophy, customer structure, etc.)?
- Who is involved in the decision-making process?
- What interests and needs does your negotiator have?
- How much information does the opposite side have of the matter?
- Are there common interests?
- How in your opinion will negotiators probably represent their arguments?
- What does he want to achieve or avoid?
- What is needed so that the other side sees the discussion as a success?
STRATEGY
- What conversation strategy and tactics are you pursuing?
- How do you proceed?
- How do you structure the negotiation?
- What information do you want to ask for?
- What core and additional benefits do you offer?
- What are the main points of a negotiated package?
- At what point are you willing to offer concessions?
- What concessions can you expect from the other side?
- What objections could the negotiators put forward? How can you tackle them convincingly?
ROLES
- What organizational measures have been taken?
- Will you discuss by telephone, in writing or in person?
- Where will you meet?
- How do you create an ideal atmosphere for discussion?
- Are you alone or do you negotiate in a team?
- Who will take which role in the team?
- Is there a time frame?
- How are you personally prepared and adjusted?
- How confident do you feel when negotiating?
- How can you reduce the stress of negotiation?
For more info, feel free to contact us.
Sandra Tanase
Managing Partner | Head of Israel Mission
Mob: +40 79 9999299