商务英语谈判技巧

Business Negotiation Skills in English

（商务英语谈判技巧）

Phases of Negotiation

According to Robert Maddux, author of Successful Negotiation, negotiation is the process we use to satisfy our needs when someone else controls what we want. In business negotiations, the two parties endeavor to obtain their business goals through bargaining with their counterparts. Business negotiations are conducted in the following four phases: the preparation phase, opening phase, bargaining phase and closing phase.

Preparation phase

1.Choosing your team

The negotiation team should include members in the following areas: Commercial: responsible for the negotiation on price, delivery terms, and commercial policy of risk taking.

Technical: responsible for specifications, programs, and methods of work.

Financial: terms of payment, credit insurance and financial guarantees.

Legal: contract documents, terms and conditions of contract, insurance and legal interpretation.

Interpreter: familiar with the foreign language needed as well as the negotiation-related knowledge, and having certain communication skills.

The most important role in the team is the chief negotiator (CN), who is supposed to possess the following qualities: sociability, shrewdness, adaptability, patience, endurance. Other than that, extensive knowledge, clear oral expression as well as strong leadership are also important for a CN.

2. Gathering and analyzing information

Valuable information covers the areas in political, legal as well as business system, market research, financial policies, infrastructure and logistics. The knowledge on the counterpart is also necessary. With the information at hand, it is time do a feasibility study to adjust our goals to be achieved.

3. The negotiation plan

The plan defines the negotiating objectives, sets the minimum acceptable level for each term, and states the time control, initial strategy, the tactics and others including the location, personnel and facilities needed. A well-designed plan allows more flexibility in different situations and guides the negotiators through the negotiation process without getting off track.

The opening phase

It is common that the seller submits proposals. Then the buyer confronts with three options: outright acceptance, outright rejection, and qualified rejection,

the last of which is usually the most choice. Once the positions and objectives of both parties are revealed, the negotiators begin to reflect both on the loss they will suffer if they would concede and on the loss they will receive if they would refuse to concede.

The bargaining phase

At this stage, concessions are made and advantages are gained, thus an agreement is to be achieved. Necessarily the team should make a reappraisal of the other party’s concession factor. If the other party concedes more/faster than expected, their real concession factor is greater. Adversely, if the other party concedes less/slower than expected, they are perhaps correct in estimation, or they are simply bluffing. As the negotiation moves to the stage of identifying particular concession exchanges, the negotiators will expect to receive signals which indicate the genuine positions.

The closing phase

Once the seller and the buyer reach an agreement, it is time to draw up the contract. Typically one party prepares the contract listing the agreed upon clauses. The other party makes amendments to the wording to make them more closely reflect the agreement.

Negotiation Strategies and Tactics

Negotiation strategies and tactics are crucial to business negotiation. Generally speaking, strategy may be defined as the overall plan used to gain advantage over the opponent or achieve some end. Tactics may be defined as the means by which the strategic objective is achieved. Once a strategy has been chosen, tactics must be devised to assure that the goals are achieved.

Strategies

There are two basic strategies: offensive and defensive. Offensive strategies are used to take initiative while the defensive ones are to observe and wait until opportunities come and necessary measures be taken. Usually the party with the greatest sense of need will make the initial contact. However, a suitable strategy will only emerge only after the following guidelines are considered:

What is our main goal in the target market?

What are the issues to be negotiated?

What level of agenda control can I or we expect?

Have we analyzed the personal information of our counterparts or their

negotiation history?

Have we analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of both sides?

What is our opening offer and what is the bottom line?