A well-rounded workforce is essential to compete in the current industry, with agile businesses able to adapt to changing climates, usually coming out on top. One such skill that more and more companies are choosing to train their employees in is the art of negotiation. It is a belief amongst some large national and international firms that employees who have undertaken negotiation training will be able to maintain revenue streams easily. This is essential in the current economic climate, especially seeing as historically large companies often struggle with this. This is why companies like Heineken are bringing outside help from The Gap Partnership when it comes to negotiation training.
1. Helps identify what matters most to win better deals
In general, skilled negotiators will be able to win deals favourably. However, negotiation training also allows employees to identify which elements of a deal matter most. This is favourable for firms, as it helps speed up deal-making, creating an overall more efficient system.
Trained negotiators are able to ask open-ended diagnostic questions that allow them to gauge the needs and desires of their client. This makes deal-making less of a guessing game and more of an exact procedure.
2. Increases the likelihood that everyone wins
In some situations, it is impossible for everyone to be happy, but with skilled negotiators there is an increased likelihood that everyone comes out feeling like they have gained something from a deal. As previously stated, negotiation training gives employees the skills to gauge a client’s desires, and also the ability to articulate the give-and-take of a deal. This is invaluable in the midst of a negotiation, as they will be able to ensure the client receives what they expected when entering negotiations so that they feel like they came out on top.
Ensuring negotiations go well is essential to maintaining revenue streams. If your clients feel like they are being tricked or coerced, they would be unlikely to do business with you in the future. A skilled negotiator can help to negate this issue.
3. Enhances teamwork and group collaboration
Negotiations can sometimes be isolated dealings where one party’s negotiators interact with another’s. Training other stakeholders in your company, who don’t necessarily fit the rigors of the negotiation process, provides them with a common language to help them collaborate with the negotiation team, before interacting with a separate party.
This will put many negotiators at ease, knowing that their purchasing or sales team have the necessities and the strategy to react to a negotiation appropriately.
4. Helps prevent bad business
Negotiation training helps to prevent ‘bullying’ during a deal. The training provides skilled negotiators with tools to deal with bullying tactics. This can be essential in preventing bad business. It is not unheard of that companies who feel that they are in the stronger position during a negotiation will abuse this power, attempting to coerce the smaller firm into making a bad deal. Negotiation training teaches negotiators to react appropriately, even going as far to recommend that, during some dealings, a party may need to simply walk away and end negotiations.
5. Builds better business relationships
Part of a negotiator’s skillset involves being a personable and likeable individual. Training your negotiators to be relatable and to form a rapport with clients is one of the keys to maintaining revenue streams, as it helps lead to further business down the road.
As aforementioned in point 2, skilled negotiators can make everyone feel like they are winning in the deal-making process. Ultimately, having happy clients can very often lead to further business in the future, as contracts get extended or renewed.
