Negotiation

Have you read any books about negotiation? I have. I also sat in on a seminar led by the infamous Herb Cohen, noted negotiator and author of many books on the subject. The methods I've learned from these encounters are essentially the same:

1. Get ready - do your research on the subject prior to negotiations, acquire references to external sources for comparison and as a means to decide when a deal is a no go
2. When you meet, refrain from getting to the bottom line fist, seek to understand each parties interests first
3. Once interests are articulated, start brainstorming various options available to satisfy those interests
4. Boil the options down to the critical few and then determine which standards are applicable to them (this is where your research helps)

Those of us who have any insight into negotiation can appreciate that these steps are extremely high level. I welcome your comments; successes and or failures that you have in applying these.

My successes have been limited. For instance, I recently purchased used car. I found myself in a high pressure situation with little time to apply the principals;

• the car was a 2002 model with very very low mileage
• the price was just under my limit (taxes and other admin charges put me over)
• there were other interested buyers - or at least test drivers
• I was without a personal mode of transport in the next two days, relying on the car pool
• I encountered unknowns such as extended warranty, and corrosion package costs

From a lessons learned perspective, my method for preparing and adherence to a disciplined approach could have been better. I chose to do a simple price comparison using online car classified ads such as the ones found in autotrader The lesson to learn from this is to limit my field research to the same vehicles. The second thing I should have researched was the cost of rust prevention services and extended warranty offerings. Neither had I elected to consider and therefore had to rely on memory during the crunch. Lastly, if financing is a concern, then compare rates.. The car dealer was ready to offer me financing. I could have done my homework in this area ahead of time since I already knew my preferred lender.