What makes a good negotiator

Qualities of a Good Negotiator

Arriving at a mutually-agreeable negotiation will be very difficult without the skills of granting concessions. In a negotiation, rarely will a party get everything that they wish for. Each party should aim at getting the best possible deal, until it is acceptable to the other party.

Active listening and focused speaking are necessary to establish your needs and your level of acceptance, while complying with the needs of the other parties. Some of the most significant skills required for successful negotiation are −

A sense of humor and a positive attitude are necessary, as they make both the parties feel comfortable with each other. However, in some cases, no matter how cordial you are to one another, negotiations may turn sour. In such cases, it is essential to be able to think from the other party’s angle, while being positive.

You wish to get as much as you can out of the deal, but the other parties too need to get what they can. A feeling of mutual respect should prevail among both the parties. Not making concessions, while demanding the same from others results in a dissatisfied negotiation.

It is also important to ensure your satisfaction, irrespective of the regards you have for the other parties. Good negotiators always emphasize on balance. Concessions should be made to secure what you can get. So, you must ensure that you are not beaten down to a minimum in the end.

Some of the additional attributes to consider that may affect negotiations include −

7 Essential Qualities of a Good Negotiator

The negotiator’s job is easy one. He has to combine various skills if he is to be effective. Primarily, he should be a clear and rapid thinker. He must be able to analyse the situation clearly and judge the best course of action.

A negotiation is a situation of give and take and one of choosing the best alternative that will suit both parties. Therefore, unless negotiator is able to quickly assess the various consequences, he will be a failure in the negotiations.

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As opportunities do not come often, it is preferable that he is trained by I.Q. tests, psychological aptitude tests, groups discussion, group decision, making process, mock negotiations, in order to improve his skills in this art.

Mere analytical skills will be of no use, unless the negotiator possesses inter personal and communication skills as well. The most important thing in a negotiation is that your case is well appreciated by the other party.

The failure to reach a negotiated settlement often reflects the negotiator’s inability to recognise the basis of the disagreement and alternate routes that will lead ultimately to settlement.

The approach of the deadline, the introduction of new information, shifting economic conditions or a change in the negotiating team, all affect negotiations. The basic job of a negotiator is to bring diverse interests to a single point of view.

The basic qualities which a negotiator should possess are:

1. Ability to analyze

2. Sense of humour

4. Persistence and persuasiveness

6. Calm, quiet and impersonal

7. Right attitude.

1. Ability to analyze:

He should have clear thinking and possess sound judgement to enable him to plan and consider various alternatives objectively. He must discern the statements of others — those favouring his position, those opposing and those suggesting alternative solutions and should be able to use these statements to his advantage.

2. Sense of humour:

He must be tactful and possess a sense of humour. Obviously, one cannot win every point. He must, therefore, possess the ability to make a concession at the right moment and still display good humour even when losing a point.

3. Knowledge:

A good negotiator must have a good working knowledge of all primary functions of business like, economics, business law, engineering, finance, cost accounting etc. He should have studied in detail the methodology of contract and techniques of negotiation.

Prior to embarking on any negotiation, he must study and acquire detailed knowledge of the product he is buying, the manufacturing techniques, raw materials used, likely substitutes, breakdown of the cost and factors affecting price etc.

Though he will be assisted by various specialists in different fields, he must himself possess sufficient knowledge in each field, be a jack of all trades and must be able to play his part as a natural leader giving direction and purpose to his team.

4. Persistence and persuasiveness:

He must be tenacious and should be able to persist in his efforts to solve the problem to mutual satisfaction without causing offence. For this, he should acquire the art of persuasiveness and the knock of getting along in an agreement. He should be an optimist and need not give up midway in disgust. He should be able to withstand adverse comments.

5. Skill:

He must be skillful in identifying issues in a negotiation and their relative importance, in planning strategy and tactics, in communicating, arguing and persuading. He must possess fluency of expression and a technique of his own to lead conferences.

6. Calm, quiet and impersonal:

In all situations he should remain calm & quiet but impersonal. These are difficult qualities to practise particularly in the heat of discussion during negotiation. He should be a good listener, allowing others to talk. Simultaneously, he himself should be a good talker.

7. Right attitude:

He should have studied psychology and must understand human relations and interaction of groups.

9 Main Qualities of the Negotiators | Business

This article throws light upon the nine main qualities of the negotiator. The qualities are: 1. Personality 2. Knowledge 3. Communicative 4. Leadership qualities 5. Authoritative 6. Confident 7. Ability to keep secrets 8. Hard working 9. Team man.

Negotiator: Quality # 1. Personality:

It refers to the general physical appearance, which is pleasing, encouraging, associative, open, powerful, impressive and above all very friendly.

Negotiator: Quality # 2. Knowledge:

A good negotiator generally has high IQ and broad based knowledge covering various fields including the understanding of human nature and is well read.

Negotiator: Quality # 3. Communicative:

Negotiation is nothing but communication and understanding. The ability to be able to express views and make them understood in the same way that are intended to, is the foremost important requisite of a good negotiator. He has the ability to communicate inter and across cultures. He has the ability to understand the body language and can read the mind.

Negotiator: Quality # 4. Leadership qualities:

Across the negotiating table or over the electronic media including the written and the verbal form, in all these cases the man who leads the negotiation is the one who faces the opponent first hand. It requires specific skill to hold not only his ground but to offset the opponent from his ground.

He has to have the ability to lead his team cohesively and coordinate all the inputs and outputs in a systematic manner. He never lets monotony, boredom, pressure and tension to engulf his team and himself. He has the ability to hold his point of view and get it across. He conveys confidence and trust. He is attentive and sensitive.

He has the ability to rephrase his point of view and redirect his actions till the net objective is reached. He is a good planner and schemer. He can focus and is focused from the minutest to the overall view in full details. He knows what he wants and what he is willing to part. These are some of the qualities of leadership and the negotiator displays them with great fineness. He is not a charismatic character but a leader.

Negotiator: Quality # 5. Authoritative:

A negotiator need not be a man of power especially of bureaucratic nature. His authority stems from his knowledge and skills. He exerts authority without power. It must be understood that managerial hierarchy has no role to play in the display of authority across the negotiating table, its role is limited to the “conferring and consulting” phase of negotiation.

It is irrelevant as to what is the status of the man in the organizational ladder but once he is selected to lead the team as the negotiator then his role is totally different. He assumes the role of a leader, coordinator and controller and acts as a man of authority for the sole conduct of negotiation process.

The opposite side can never transgress on his area of power and they cannot by-pass his, nor can any one of his team can do the same. All what is said or done is only through this man called the negotiator. In actual negotiations many times the opponents try best to pin point or target a specific person for manipulation, ethical or unethical, but an alert negotiator always blocks any such move.

Negotiator: Quality # 6. Confident:

A negotiator is always calm, composed and confident under any circumstances. He is a man of strong convictions. He has clarity of thoughts and expressions. He can disagree but is not a disagreeable character. He is optimistic to the hilt.

Negotiator: Quality # 7. Ability to keep secrets:

This is perhaps one of the key character traits of a negotiator. He has the ability not only to keep secret what he knows but also is ever ready to open up the minds of the opponent. In business Price and Profit are the two main issues which the opponent tries to make you divulge and which you as negotiator try to keep wrapped up.

The opponents may try various tactics to extract different statements in different context. All leading to the basic question of the price and the profitability. The negotiator has to have the ability to understand such moves and never let the opponent reach anywhere nearer to the truth. Those who cannot keep secrets can neither be good buyers or sellers and are least fit to be the negotiator.

Traders, who can play the dual role of buyers and sellers, have to be extra sensitive to this trait. It must be noted that the ability to keep secrets is a positive character sign and is well understood by the opponents, but to be secretive is a negative sign and it only creates similar response from the opponents.

The former knows what to keep secret but the later tries to keep most of the things secret. A secretive person seldom makes a good negotiator.

Negotiator: Quality # 8. Hard working:

A negotiator is a leader in nature and composer in actions. He is the one who faces his and the opposing team and uses both to arrive at a negotiated solution. This means that he has to do much more work as compared to the individual members of his team. This requires tremendous amount of work input.

Only those who are used to longer hours of stretched work schedules with the ability to keep the mental and physical alertness at all the times, stand good chance to be able negotiators. Usually they don’t tier easily. This trait helps them to keep their mind focused on the core issues under any situation.

Negotiator: Quality # 9. Team man:

Negotiation is a collective effort. It is the synthesis of various activities carried out by many individuals and/or groups. The negotiator has to act like the captain of the team. His job is two sided, on one side he has to know the members professionally and on the other side personally. He has to make sure that each understands his part of the job well and is unto date on the assigned part.

He has to know their likes and dislikes, how they work and how best they can work. He has to make them battle ready for the negotiation. All these activities the negotiator can not perform unless he has the ability to work as a team man. The ethics of group culture has to be deeply rooted in him.

Makes a Good Negotiator

If you are looking to take your negotiation skills to the next level from the comfort of your own home, check out our virtual negotiation programs. Top executives in sales and purchasing ask, “What is the most important trait we should look for in selecting a good negotiator?” If I were to restrict my answer to a single trait, it would be the ability of negotiators to deal with people in their own organization.

Top executives in sales and purchasing ask, “What is the most important trait we should look for in selecting a good negotiator?”

If I were to restrict my answer to a single trait, it would be the ability of negotiators to deal with people in their own organization.

Good negotiators should be good networkers.

Only in that way can they understand the needs of those around them and balance their expectations and priorities.

A diplomat’s success in dealing with other world leaders in trade negotiations will, in the last analysis, be dependent on his or her ability to deal with the President, the Cabinet, the Congress, the press, the people, and the CEO’s of the major corporations involved.

Here are some other traits that good negotiators share:

1: An ability to work with the other party in searching for creative win-win ideas to bring the parties together.

2: A logical mind. The ability to present his or her position in terms of principles that can be easily communicated. Abraham Lincoln once said of another politician, “He can compress the most words into the smallest ideas of any man I’ve ever met.” That man, I’m sure, was not a good negotiator.

3: A dedication to painstaking preparation and detail.

4: A willingness to tolerate disagreement and confrontation.

5: The ability to live with ambiguity for long periods of time. Things are rarely black or white in negotiation.

6: Good judgment. As the old farmer who was known for his wisdom said when asked why he was so wise, “I’ve got good judgment. Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of experience comes from bad judgment.”

7: Patience and willingness to let the situation evolve. Remember, rushing to complete a negotiation can harm you.

8: Persistence and a refusal to give up in the face of opposition. You might hear «No» many times before you get to «Yes».

9: Hard work and stamina. Lazy people make poor negotiators. Negotiations take work and effort to be successful.

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Makes a Good Negotiator

If you are looking to take your negotiation skills to the next level from the comfort of your own home, check out our virtual negotiation programs. Top executives in sales and purchasing ask, “What is the most important trait we should look for in selecting a good negotiator?” If I were to restrict my answer to a single trait, it would be the ability of negotiators to deal with people in their own organization.

Top executives in sales and purchasing ask, “What is the most important trait we should look for in selecting a good negotiator?”

If I were to restrict my answer to a single trait, it would be the ability of negotiators to deal with people in their own organization.

Good negotiators should be good networkers.

Only in that way can they understand the needs of those around them and balance their expectations and priorities.

A diplomat’s success in dealing with other world leaders in trade negotiations will, in the last analysis, be dependent on his or her ability to deal with the President, the Cabinet, the Congress, the press, the people, and the CEO’s of the major corporations involved.

Here are some other traits that good negotiators share:

1: An ability to work with the other party in searching for creative win-win ideas to bring the parties together.

2: A logical mind. The ability to present his or her position in terms of principles that can be easily communicated. Abraham Lincoln once said of another politician, “He can compress the most words into the smallest ideas of any man I’ve ever met.” That man, I’m sure, was not a good negotiator.

3: A dedication to painstaking preparation and detail.

4: A willingness to tolerate disagreement and confrontation.

5: The ability to live with ambiguity for long periods of time. Things are rarely black or white in negotiation.

6: Good judgment. As the old farmer who was known for his wisdom said when asked why he was so wise, “I’ve got good judgment. Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of experience comes from bad judgment.”

7: Patience and willingness to let the situation evolve. Remember, rushing to complete a negotiation can harm you.

8: Persistence and a refusal to give up in the face of opposition. You might hear «No» many times before you get to «Yes».

9: Hard work and stamina. Lazy people make poor negotiators. Negotiations take work and effort to be successful.

Get the latest thought leadership on the market delivered to your inbox.