10 Common Obstacles to Avoid When Negotiating

In negotiating, it is absolutely important to remember at all times that you are dealing with other persons who are in every material detail different from you. Their values, motives and expectations are also different. To make headway with such persons therefore, you must be absolutely certain to avoid all obstacles that can obstruct you from coming across clearly to them when you want to make a deal with them. Anything that directly or indirectly impacts on this ability should be avoided at all costs. Some of these obstacles are:

01. Poor communication. Whether written or spoken, poor communication is a major obstacle to negotiations and deal-making. If you are incapable of communicating clearly to your negotiating partners what you want from them or need them to do, your chances of making a deal are severely limited. Same situation plays out when they too are unable to communicate to you what they want from you. Conflicting communication is a deal-killer any day. 

02. Non-congruent personalities. When you do not “flow” with a particular person, it is difficult to negotiate with or to make deals with such a person. This is one obstacle that must be avoided.

 

03. Different perceptions of same issue. There is not likely to be a meeting point in negotiating with persons whose views on same issues are not in tandem with yours. When perceptions are different, it is difficult if not impossible to know what concessions to give that will meet the other person’s expectations. Striking a mutually beneficial deal in such circumstance is near impossible.

04. Non-congruent goals. When negotiating partners are not working towards same goals, striking a deal is not very likely. This is another obstacle that should never be overlooked in negotiations. When goals are non-congruent, both parties hardly know when they meet the expectations of each other.

05. Contradictory expectations. This prevents mutually beneficial deals from being struck. If you do not know what the other side wants, it is impossible to provide them what they need.

 

06. Inconsistent values and beliefs. When your values are not consistent with those of your negotiating partners, anything you do may be offensive to them. That can create a major conflict capable of jeopardizing the deal being negotiated. Depending on the cultural differences between the negotiating partners, their use of language and mannerisms may be offensive to others. These can create a major obstacle to negotiations.

07. Subtle coercion. No one no matter their stations in life likes to be forced to do something they do not like or are unwilling to do. If any party in the negotiations senses that they are being coerced to make a deal, no matter how subtle the coercion is, it could create suspicion and resistance. That scenario can create a major obstacle to the deal.

08. Poor timing. As the saying goes, “there is time for everything.” When you do not get the timing right, you could create an obstacle to the negotiations.

09. Third parties outside the immediate negotiating environment. Too many negotiators usually spoil the deal. When there are third parties involved in the negotiations who are not immediately visible, that creates an obstacle to successful negotiations.

10. Unsuitable negotiating environment. Naturally, any environment you are directly impacts on who you can meet with and what you can discuss. An unsuitable negotiating environment is an obstacle to successful negotiations.

Unresolved conflicts during negotiations primarily prevent deals from being struck. The obstacles that cause conflicts when identified in good time can be avoided. Avoiding obstacles paves the way for smooth negotiations and successful deal-making. That is what smart entrepreneurs need in the day-to-day running of their businesses. They need to avoid these obstacles because without negotiations and deal-making, it is difficult for entrepreneurs to make money or even to run any business successfully.

4 Smart Ways to Negotiate With a Cash-Strapped Buyer

When you start a business whether small or big, you can not run it successfully without dealing with people. That involves negotiations all the way. Most entrepreneurs are master negotiators. That is one quality everyone needs to survive in any business environment. That is because to remain in business, you got to regularly negotiate with suppliers, employees, customers, service providers, government regulators and sundry other people. These are people you must as a matter of course deal with on daily basis. When the persons you are negotiating with are cash-strapped or pretend to be cash-strapped as many people usually do, the following strategies come in very handy if you seriously want to get something out of the negotiations.

01. Emphasize to them the benefits of your product or service. This strategy is rather obvious. The more you are able to get others to see how much benefit your product or service can provide for them, the better your chances of getting them to deal even if they are cash-strapped. When the “pull” to get the product or service is strong enough, not having money becomes less important. Some people may even go to borrow money to make payments when they are sufficiently worked-up to have the product or service.  

02. Find out how much they can afford. By doing this, you are presenting a picture of genuine willingness to help. That helps to build trust. With trust, your negotiating cash-strapped partners could actually confide in you by divulging correctly how much they can afford. When you are equipped with this information, you could decide to save everyone’s time by calling off the negotiations if actually the fellows can not afford the deal. If you find out they can, you may decide to accommodate them further by lowering your own demands to meet theirs. That way, you could strike a deal that is capable of making all parties happy.

03. Ask them if they can pay in installments. This way, you are further cementing the picture of willingness to help out. Your negotiating partners may be unable to afford a bulk amount at once but if the picture of payments in installments over an extended period of time is presented, they could deal at that point. That again presents a good picture of willingness to help.

04. Subtly remind them that they can deal elsewhere. This strategy is rather tricky and could backfire if not tactically used. You may inadvertently hurt the ego of your negotiating partners if you are not careful here. A bruised ego automatically means a no-deal situation. That kind of scenario should be avoided at all costs. If you do it right and suggest to your negotiating partners that they could deal elsewhere, it will present a picture that you genuinely want to help even if the deal is not done with you. That could nudge them to want to deal with you believing that you could give further concessions that will enable them to deal.

It is difficult to negotiate successfully when you aim to win all concessions. Success can only be guaranteed when all parties to the negotiations leave the table believing they won something. That creates the scenario of win-win on both sides. That is the ideal situation these tips can help achieve even if the other partners are actually cash-strapped or they are feigning it as many are wont to do.  That is the win-win scenario every entrepreneur who wants to have maximum benefits from negotiations should endeavor to create as much as practicable at all times and in all situations. Negotiating concessions is a very good way to save money or to make money for the business. That makes it highly desirable for the business.