1、Business Negotiation Skills in English（商務英語談判技巧）Phases of NegotiationAccording 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 busine

2、ss 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 phase1. Choosing your teamThe negotiation team should include members in the following areas: Co

3、mmercial: 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

4、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 qu

5、alities: 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 informationValuable information covers the areas in political, legal as well as busines

6、s 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 planThe plan defines the negotiating objectives, sets

7、 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

8、without getting off track.The opening phaseIt 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 ar

9、e 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 phaseAt this stage, concessions are made and advantages are gained, thus an agreement is to be achieved. Necessarily t

10、he team should make a reappraisal of the other partys 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 bluffi

11、ng. 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 phaseOnce the seller and the buyer reach an agreement, it is time to draw up the contract. Typically one party pr

12、epares 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 TacticsNegotiation strategies and tactics are crucial to business negotiation. Generally speaking, strategy may be defined a

13、s 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.StrategiesThere are two basic strategies:

14、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

15、 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

16、the strengths and weaknesses of both sides? What is our opening offer and what is the bottom line? Have we collected enough evidence? Have we worked out the alternatives for the solution? Can we afford to say “No”? What are the alternatives to a completed negotiation?Tactics There are two types of t

17、actics commonly used in the negotiation process: offensive and defensive. Offensive Tactics: Probe for Insight. Ask value-free, informational questions to find out what the other partys underlying needs are. Avoid judgmental styles of questioning-even though your first instinct is to use them. How y

18、ou word these questions will help or hinder you in obtaining responses. For example, if you say, “How did you ever think you could get that objective?” you will simply put the other party on the defensive. But if you say, “Im not sure I understand why that objective is so important to you. Can you e

19、xplain your concerns?” You are far more likely to obtain useful information about the other partys underlying concerns.Feign a blow to the east and attack in the west. One party will over emphasize the apparent importance to securing a particular point when their real objective is the exact opposite

20、. Some negotiators are usually suspicious of any proposal made by their counterparts. Take Tit for tat. Its an effective tactic to make your counterpart give up. By saying “No” clearly and firmly, you can make an impression that you have made enough concession and will withdraw no longer. Usually th

21、e hard-shell approach pushes the deal forward and fools the opponent into making concessions and closing the deal.Control the written record. Seize the opportunity to get the word in by volunteering to prepare the minutes of the meeting, the draft of the report, or the summary of the discussion. Eve

22、n when a written report isnt required, you can still take it upon yourself to play this role by simply writing a follow-up letter or e-mail to the other party.For example, if youve just had a telephone discussion with a supplier, follow it up with a quick e-mail stating, “Nice to speak with you toda

23、y. Heres a quick note to help me remember what we decided in our phone conversation.” Unless they refuse the written version, theyve tacitly accepted it.By the way, this is a great tactic for dealing with difficult bosses. So long as the written follow-up is polite and respectful, your boss will pro

24、bably let you get away with documenting things like your job assignments and performance feedback that you have an interest in securing. Then you dont have to say later on, “But I thought you said” You and your boss will know what was said.Develop alternatives. Its so easy to develop alternatives, b

25、ut most negotiators never do, which means you can gain a significant advantage by specializing in this simple tactic.For example, suppose you call a resort hotel to make a reservation for a conference that requires you to stay for two nights over a weekend only to find that the hotels policy require

26、s a three night stay. You could grin and bear it, paying for the extra night you dont need. Many guests do thats why the resort persists in the policy. But why not develop alternatives? First, ask to speak to a supervisor (who presumably would have the authority to negotiate), and then ask her/him p

27、olitely to give you the names and numbers of other hotels nearby in case you cant get the reservation you want.This innocent question, followed by a momentary pause in which you write down the numbers, puts you in a better opening position by letting the point sink in that you can very well take you

28、r business elsewhere. And it takes only a moment and no additional calls since the information about alternatives is solicited from the other party. When the dust settles you should get what you want an exception to the policy because you have invoked the threat of exercising your alternatives.Nibbl

29、ing. Nibbling is among the most popular of negotiation tactics. The actual strategy is to continue the negotiations after the deal is supposedly done. This tactic is most effective when a great deal of time has been spend finalizing the negotiation and the other party has invested a great deal of ti

30、me into it. For instance, if you are buying a piece of property, after the deal is finalized you may ask for other accommodations that were not originally part of the plan for the property that you purchased. This can be a fairly risky tactic although a large majority of individuals will not renege

31、on the deal after so much time has been put into it. If you choose to try the nibbling technique, you may not want to ask for too much as this can break down the entire process.Defensive tactics:Silence is golden. You cant give anything away if you dont talk. In fact, how much you give away is gener

32、ally proportional to how much you talk. That means the one who talks the most, loses.So why is it so hard to shut and listen in a negotiation? It isnt hard for everybody. Many Japanese negotiators are comfortable with long periods of silence a cultural difference that gives them a natural edge over

33、more talkative Americans. Lets think quietly about that for a minute. (Wait one minute before moving on).Okay. Were back. Did you squirm a little while we were sitting here silently? Were you tempted to fill the void? Most people are. Leave a thoughtful gap in the conversation and you might simply h

34、ear some useful information about their concerns. Whatever you hear, it is likely to help you understand the other party and design your next move. And even if you hear nothing of value, you can still have the satisfaction of knowing that by being quiet you gave away nothing of value.Help the other

35、party save face. If the other party made a commitment that it now needs to abandon, it is usually an astute move on your part to help them save face. This is where you will need to be less competitive than you might expect. If you keep the pressure on them, they are likely to either lock in to their

36、 unreasonable position and refuse to budge, or they will feel so embarrassed that they may plot to get even with you later. Instead, we recommend that you help them save face. You might allow them to change their offer, find a way for them to be flexible without looking foolish, say that this is bei

37、ng done for the greater good, or make some other generous and supportive statement. If constituencies are involved, you might actively compliment the other party so that their constituency can overhear.After you! “Lets compromise.” How many times has someone said those famous words as an invitation

38、to strike a quick, simple deal when a conflict bogs things down? By saying, “Lets compromise,” you immediately signal your willingness to expedite the resolution of the problem. But dont stop there. In the “after you” tactic, you say, “Lets compromise. What do you think is fair? This invites the oth

39、er party to make the first concession. And it sets the bottom limit on what youll have to give up. It also gives you the opportunity to simply say so if their offer is clearly more than twice as low as your target. If so, politely say something like “Maybe compromising isnt such a good idea after al

40、l.” Postpone the compromise, treating the first round as a trial balloon. Then try to initiate a compromise later on with a more favorable opening (using the same after you tactic). But most likely, the other partys opening offer will be reasonable, and you can start bargaining from there. If they w

41、ant a compromise, too, they will make a reasonable or even generous opening offer. By letting them go first, you often get a more favorable outcome than if you had made the first offer.Buying time with accommodation. Will Rogers once said that “Diplomacy is the art of saying Nice doggie until you ca

42、n find a rock.” Sometimes you feel very strongly about the outcome, but havent the strength to press for a satisfactory settlement through a Competitive, Compromising, or Collaborative negotiating style at the moment. Maybe you lack support because you havent been able to get in touch with your mana

43、gement or some other powerful constituency. Perhaps you are waiting for information, funding, or other resources to arrive. Whatever the problem, your hands are tied behind your back.In which case, you can use an accommodating-for-now approach to delay the negotiation. The way to use this tactic is

44、to make it clear that , while you dont agree, you will go along with the other party for now and discuss it again later on. Use wording like “for now” and “until I have time to look into it” or “its okay for now, but Im not satisfied with it and we will have to go into it later.”Such phrasing makes

45、it clear that you are using the accommodating-for-now tactic, and have reserved the right to negotiate later on. To conclude, different strategies and tactics are employed to serve different situations which are subject to change constantly, thus flexibility and adaptability in negotiation is advisa

46、ble. Of course there are certainly other tactics involved, which can be drawn from the real negotiation practice.Practice：1. Read the following two simulated negotiation, and analyze what negotiation tactics are employed by the Party B.A Negotiation on PriceA: Perhaps we could turn to the question o

47、f price today. As I said earlier in our discussions, we are willing to place a trial order of one shipload, say 25，00030，000 tons. Could I have your lowest quotation, please?B: Yes, Id be delighted, but before we discuss price, Id like to say a few words about the market situation.A: Please do.B: So

48、ybeans in Europe enjoy an increasing demand. The prices have advanced over 10% during the last 12 months. The market is firm with an upward trend.A: You could be right, but if you take a closer look at the international market situation, youll find that the supply of soybean is more than enough to m

49、eet the demand. The main producing countries, like the United States, have increased their production drastically. At the moment there are more soybeans around than they can find the market for. It is estimated that the market will continue to be weak.B: Well, you will appreciate that the European m

50、arket is slightly different from that of the United States.A: Yes, but we must also bear in mind the fact that all of us are operating in a highly competitive global market, in which we have been forced to cut our prices from time to time to win business.B: Well, thats true.A: Now, Mr. B, if your pr

51、ice compares favorably with those of other suppliers, I have good reason to believe that we could place regular orders with you.B: Thank you, Mr. A. as we are anxious to do business with you, we are prepared to give you a special first order price, which is U.S.$508 per ton FOB.A: Thank you for the

52、offer. Unfortunately, your price appears to be on the high side, Id like to suggest that you could perhaps make some reduction that would help to introduce your product into our market.B: I m sorry to hear that you find our price to high. As a matter of fact, the quoted price leaves us with only a s

53、mall profit margin. If it were not for the large orders we are anticipating, we could not have quoted even at that price.A: I think I should be quite frank with you. The quotation we received this morning from a U.S. supplier is U.S. $500 per ton. B: Ah, the Americans again. The problem with us is t

54、hat we have to import some raw materials from abroad, which adds a great deal to our cost. By comparison, the Americans are in a more advantageous position. They dont have to import the raw materials. They have plenty of it in the States. Considering the high production cost, we dont fell that the p

55、rice we quoted is all that expensive.A: I appreciate you position, but we really cant afford to accept like that. The South Korea soybean goes at U.S. $ 495.B: I see what you mean. Can you give us a counter-offer?A: Yes, of course. We are willing to pay U.S.$500 per ton FOB for delivery with 4 weeks

56、 of order. I hope you will be able to take advantage of this exceptional offer. Please understand that we cant leave it open for more than 48 hours. You may decide now or telephone your acceptance later.B: Did you say 500?A: Precisely. B: Well. I will have to consult my board. I cant give my final w

57、ord until I speak to them. Can I use your telephone?A: Yes, please do.B: It gives me great pleasure to tell you that weve decided to accept your counter-offer.A: Good. I am sure you have made the right decision. I am glad weve struck the first deal, and I look forward to many years of fruitful coope

58、ration.B: So do I 2. A Negotiation on DeliveryA: Now we have settled the terms of payment. Is it possible to effect shipment during September?B: I dont think we canA: then when is earliest we can expect shipment?B: By the middle of October, I think.A: Its too late you see. November is the season for this commodity in our market, and our customers formalities are rather complicated.B: I understand.A: well, the flow through the marketing channels and the red tape involved take at least a couple of