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VISIT…
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The Negotiation Toolkit

How to Get Exactly What You Want In Any Business or Personal Situation

by Roger J. Volkema
AMACOM © 1999
207 pages

Focus Take-Aways
Leadership
• Negotiation is not bargaining.
Strategy
Sales & Marketing • Negotiation is a skill that can be learned.
Corporate Finance
• Negotiation attitudes run the gamut from caring only about your interests to caring
Human Resources
about the parties’ mutual relationship.
Technology
Production & Logistics • The Golden Rule of Negotiation is that the party you are negotiating with must
Small Business believe that you can either help them or hurt them.
Economics & Politics
• Always have a BATNA — best alternative to a negotiated agreement.
Industries & Regions
Career Development • Know what you want from a negotiation before you start.
Personal Finance
• Ask questions to determine the needs of the other side.
Self Improvement
Ideas & Trends • Successful negotiators give internal information without revealing their positions.
• Argument dilution is the result of trying to base your negotiation strategy on the
quantity of your positions.
• There are times when you need to walk away from a negotiation.

Rating (10 is best)

Overall Applicability Innovation Style

9 9 7 8

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Review
The Negotiation Toolkit
As the title implies, this book gives you the tools you need — in the form of information
and tactics — to negotiate effectively. No matter what line of work you’re in, you’ll
benefit from the negotiation principles, strategies and styles that Roger J. Volkema
presents in an easy-to-read format. He includes exercises that you can use to test your
comprehension of the material and to start developing your skills. His chapters on
ethics and cross-cultural negotiations, while general, provide an intellectual starting
point for further investigations. This book will give you a basic foundation for effective
negotiation, but if you’re in a business that demands the skill, you’ll want to follow
up with some more advanced reading and training. Nevertheless, getAbstract.com
recommends this book to anyone who feels a little overwhelmed whenever they find
themselves across the table from a negotiating adversary, whether it’s your boss, an
employee a customer or — gulp! — your spouse.

Abstract
Understanding Negotiation
Negotiation is not the same thing as bargaining. Bargaining is the process of determining
the final price of a purchase or sale. Negotiation is communication between two or more
parties to determine the nature of future behavior. Therefore, bargaining may be a facet
of negotiation, but negotiation — because it involves multiple issues and outcomes — is
much larger than just setting a price.
What is negotiable and what is not negotiable? The answer to this question is, whatever
you think is negotiable is negotiable. And whatever you consider non-negotiable isn’t.
“People will not
negotiate with you If you do not believe that you can ask for something, then that thing is not negotiable,
unless they believe because it never comes up. The Abilene Paradox illustrates this dynamic. The Abilene
you can help them Paradox represents the negative consequence that can occur when groups of people all
or hurt them.”
want the same thing but each person fails to ask for what he or she wants. In the Abilene
Paradox, a family (father, mother, children and in-laws) takes a 53-mile trip to Abilene,
Texas, during the peak of summer in a car with no air conditioning. When the family
arrives in Abilene, they learn that no one in the car wanted to make the trip but that
everyone agreed to go because each person thought someone else wanted to go. Since no
one expressed his or her true feelings, the family went on a trip that should have never
happened. So speak up, or hit the road.
Knowing when not to negotiate is an important skill in itself. You might choose not to
“Negotiation is an negotiate for many reasons, which could include:
art form.”
• The situation is physically or psychologically dangerous.
• You are too tired, sick, distracted or confused to negotiate effectively.
• The issues are trivial or symptomatic of larger concerns.
• Others can negotiate these issues more effectively.
• You perceive no chance of satisfying your needs.
• The other party appears incapable of thinking rationally.
• You can gain social points toward a subsequent negotiation.
• The relationship is critical to you.
• You stand to lose much more than you might gain.
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The Golden Rule of Negotiation

Recognize the Golden Rule of Negotiation at all times. It states that people will not
negotiate with you unless they believe you can help them or hurt them. Recognizing how
you can help or hurt the other party is part of the art of negotiation. For example, motorists
rarely pick up hitchhikers. But suppose you are walking down a road on a hot humid
“Successful nego-
tiation begins with summer day wishing you could get a ride into town. Instead of passing you by, the next car
the belief that pulls over and the driver asks you for directions. Your chance of getting a lift into town
almost everything has greatly increased because you can help the motorist get something he needs.
is negotiable, and
almost everyone Three Fundamental Questions
will negotiate with
you.” To prepare for a negotiation, ask yourself three fundamental questions:
The first question is, “What do you want?” This is not a simple question. First, most
negotiations have multiple issues, concerns or agenda items. For example, you want to
sell your house in 90 days for X dollars. You need to be clear about which issue is most
important to you. When a negotiation includes multiple issues of varying importance,
there is a tendency to lump all the issues together or to think of them as equally important.
They are not. For instance, in the house-buying scenario, time may be more important
than price. Everyone has unspoken or subconscious issues or desires. Bring your issues to
the surface before the negotiation starts, and think them through so you are clear in your
own mind. This enables you to be nimble in negotiations — a requirement for success
when you’re working face-to-face. Failing to ask this question leads to confusion, loss of
control or respect and settling for a package rather than a priority outcome.
The second question of negotiation is, “Why should they negotiate with you?” This goes
back to the golden rule, how can you help or hurt the people with whom you are going to
“Negotiation is a negotiate? You have to determine their needs to know how you can help or hurt them. The
skill.” basic human needs fall into several categories: financial, psychological, social, material
and physical. Consider how you can help or hurt the other party in these areas. Not asking
this question can result in being ignored by the other party, fewer concessions by the other
party and increased likelihood of a partial win outcome.
The third fundamental question of negotiation is, “What are your alternatives?” What
options do you have if this negotiation fails? The authors of the classic negotiation text,
Getting to Yes, go to great lengths to answer this question. They say you must know
your options, or your BATNA, meaning your best alternative to a negotiated agreement.
Having a BATNA strengthens your ability to walk away. Not asking the third question
leads toward reduced confidence, less willingness to pursue sensitive or explosive issues
and increased likelihood of a partial-win outcome.

Desirable Behaviors of Successful Negotiators

Successful negotiators practice four desirable behaviors.
“Knowing when to 1. They ask questions for five reasons: 1) To gather data about the other party’s thinking
negotiate and
when not to is an or position, 2) To control the discussion, 3) To keep the other parties active and reduce
important skill in their thinking time, 4) To get thinking time, and 5) To avoid direct disagreements.
itself.” 2. They test their understanding of the other party’s prior statement and they summa-
rize the previous discussion points.
3. They give internal information. They tend to give facts, sources, options and other
information without revealing any emotion. Deliberately, they do not give out any
information about their position.
4. They explain before disagreeing. They tend to begin with a review of events or cir-
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cumstances before presenting a statement of disagreement. This permits the other

party to hear your arguments and logic, and perhaps agree to your position before
you actually state it.

Undesirable Behaviors of Negotiators

“Recognizing how Average or ineffective negotiators tend to practice four undesirable behaviors.
you can help or
hurt the other 1. Average negotiators tend to defend their position and immediately attack.
party is part of the 2. Negotiators dilute their arguments because they believe that more is better. Average
art of negotiation.”
negotiators will make several incidental arguments to bolster their position. This
tends to dilute the strength of their primary argument. Successful negotiators know
that they should never dilute the strength of their main argument.
3. Average negotiators use immediate counterproposals to fight positions with positions.
4. Negotiators use irritators, which are statements that tell the other party what a good deal
they are getting. For example, “I think you will find this to be very fair,” is a commonly used
irritator. The cure is to frame the statement in the context of joint progress or outcomes.

Negotiating Styles
The five negotiating styles are defined by two dimensions, concern for your self-interest
and concern for the other party or relationship. The style you choose is a function of your
personality and the outcome you wish to achieve. The five styles are:
1. Competing style — This focuses on your self-interest at the expense of the other party.
2. Accommodating style — This style is concerned with the relationship; it is the oppo-
site of the competing style.
“The first question 3. Collaborating style — This approach attempts to satisfy everyone’s needs. It looks
you want to ask
yourself before
for win-win solutions.
you negotiate is, 4. Avoiding style — This person tries to avoid the negotiation itself.
what do I want?” 5. Compromising style — This negotiator wants to create partial-win, partial-lose scenarios.

Tactics in Your Toolkit

Negotiators in business or social circumstances tend to have eight common tactics in
their toolkits:
1. Exaggerated first offer — This tactic is used to gather information or check the other
party’s response, which could include surprise, disappointment, nonchalance, accep-
tance or enthusiasm.
2. Speed-ups — Use this tactic to measure interest and timing when you want to com-
plete a deal. Airlines use this tactic when they tell you the ticketing must occur
within 24 hours of booking. If it’s used on you and you do not like having time pres-
sure, be sure that you have your BATNA ready.
3. Delay — This is a common tactic to unnerve your opponents and to gauge their sense
of urgency.
4. Drawing lines — This tactic creates artificial bottom lines with regard to price or
“If you don’t know supply, or marks territory that is off limits in the negotiation.
what the other per- 5. Creating competition — This tactic helps by hurting your opponents.
son’s needs are, 6. Concessions — You can start a negotiation with a concession when multiple options might
you have to dis-
cover them.”
satisfy the other party. Pay attention to the timing, size and range of the concessions.
7. Investment — This tactic plays on your desire to get a return for time and/or money
you’ve spent.
8. Authority limits — This is a popular tactic with an item that has a wide range of possible
prices. Car dealerships use this tactic to get price concessions from potential customers.
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Additional tactics for your negotiation toolkit include:

• Silence — Use silence to get the other side to commit to a position first.
• Playing dumb — This is a way to gain useful information from the other side.
• Playing crazy — This is a way to unnerve the other side.
“The more you • Showing off the goods — This is a way to have the product sell itself.
know about your
• Flattery — This gives you more of what you want, while convincing the other side
own needs, the
other party’s that you are interested in the relationship.
needs and the • Lowballing — Use this technique to hook customers for big-ticket items.
properties of the • Strawman — This is a concession tactic, but you concede something with little or no
issues or items
with which you are value to you.
working, the more • Bundling — Combine items of mixed value in a bundle that’s more saleable than the
effective you can individual parts.
be as a negotia-
tor.”
• Confederates — Sometimes you need strength in numbers, so three negotiators are
better than one.
• Good guy-bad guy — When you negotiate in pairs, one person can be helpful while
the other is not.
• Split the difference — This refers to the tactic of halving the difference between two
positions to reach an agreement.

Tough Negotiators
From time to time, you will have to deal with three types of tough negotiators. The
genuine article is the hard-core toughie. This is the individual who likes to win, needs
“Scout your oppo- to win and will win. The hard-core toughie negotiating style is aggressive-aggressive.
nent.” Fictional examples of this style are Catbert, the evil HR Director from the comic Dilbert,
and Cruella de Vil from the Disney movie 101 Dalmatians.
The second tough negotiator is the provoked toughie. Provoked toughies do not need
to win and will actually negotiate with you until they are attacked or threatened. Once
threatened, provoked toughies will hold their ground. The provoked toughie negotiating
style is passive-aggressive. Fictional examples of this style are Frasier Crane from the
TV show Frasier, and the cartoon character Popeye.
The third tough negotiator is the faux toughie, who is gruff on the outside, but very soft
inside. The gruff exterior masks the fear of having this soft spot exposed. The faux toughie
negotiating style is aggressive-passive. Fictional examples of this style are The Cowardly
Lion from The Wizard of Oz and Major Margaret Houlihan from the TV show M*A*S*H.

About The Author

Roger J. Volkema is an associate professor of management at American University and a
private consultant to business and government. He regularly conducts courses, seminars and
workshops on negotiation, mediation and conflict management in North and South America,
and has written more than 25 articles on these subjects. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Buzz-Words
Abilene paradox / BATNA / Negotiation toolkit

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