How to Negotiate Effectively

Below is a framework to consider in your pursuit of maximizing the net benefit to your client while simultaneously bringing justice to the parties involved, and thereby enhancing your reputation as an effective negotiator.

Prepare Before You Negotiate

• Evaluate the extent of your client's strengths and weaknesses in order to fully leverage your opportunities and minimize the risk of foregoing a beneficial agreement.
• Calculate your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement)/ bottom line. Evaluate all costs and benefits of agreement and non-agreement including non-monetary costs and benefits.
• Identify your aspiration point.
• Identify and prioritize your client's interests. Think of creative ways to achieve your opponents' objectives in addition to your own.

Be Friendly

• Spend time establishing a rapport and finding commonalities with your opponent. Be courteous and polite. People cooperate with people they like and with whom they feel comfortable.

Be Firm

• Make your opening position strong by demanding an amount that is as much more than your bottom line as you can fairly and reasonably justify. The negotiator who makes the first reasonable offer will set the bargaining range for the entire negotiation.
• Emphasize the strengths of your position and downplay your weaknesses. When acknowledging your weaknesses follow up with your strongest point. Give concessions slowly, but appropriately (reward your opponent's concessions by similarly conceding).
• You should consistently focus on establishing 1) why your position is reasonable; and 2) why your opponent's position is unreasonable.

Seek Information

• Probe your opponent to find out his interests and make sure that all of his demands are justified by reasonable objective criteria. Ask questions of your opponent to expose the weaknesses in the reasoning offered to support his demands.
• Ask your opponent to prioritize his interests.
• Listen to your opponent instead of merely thinking about what you are going to say next.

Show that your Position is Reasonable

• When making a demand, demonstrate why your demand is reasonable. Use objective criteria (i.e. statistics, figures, case law) to justify your demands/position. If you insist on demanding something that you know your client does not deserve, you will not be able to truthfully demonstrate why such a demand is reasonable. Furthermore, your opponent will most likely call your bluff and you will lose credibility and compromise your reputation.

Cooperate

• Show interest in your opponent's interests. Your opponent will only strike a deal if he is satisfied.
• Dovetail your and your opponent's interests/unite your vision.
• Think creatively to invent options for mutual gains. Offer your opponent options (but not too many as to overwhelm him).
• As the negotiation proceeds and each of you make concessions, acknowledge the progress that you are making to cultivate a positive, non-competitive atmosphere.
• Do not create false issues. Creating false issues may be disruptive because you may not be able to demonstrate why the issues are important and how your client is affected by them. Additionally, if your opponent realizes this, he may become weary and hesitant to trust you and additionally it will likely leave him with a negative impression of you.

Be Consistent

• Many studies have shown that mirroring the aggressive and cooperative patters of your opponent's style in a negotiation is highly effective. Such reactions of reward and punishment, however, must be applied appropriately and consistently to be effective.
• Just as you are consistent in your reactions, you should also be consistent in your actions. Being consistent makes your threats and demands credible.

Do not Over-Divulge

• Maintain the attorney-client privilege and confidentiality. Do not overly divulge information.

Beware of Your Non-Verbal Communication

• Beware of non-verbal communication that may be sending your opponent the message that your position is weak (i.e. biting your lip, looking down, or speaking softly). Use positive body language to convey confidence (i.e. eye-contact). Having adequately prepared will enhance your confidence naturally. Additionally, use positive body language to appear cooperative (i.e. nod your head to show you are listening). Studies have shown that women are naturally more inclined to non-verbally communicate that they are listening, so gentleman, you may need to more consciously work this in to your routine.
• Let your actions speak louder than words-which your opponent may take to be an empty threat (i.e. do not repeatedly threaten filing a lawsuit, show your opponent that you are preparing the case for trial through papering the file effectively).

Reflect

• Refine your skills as a negotiator by reflecting on your negotiations.

Concluding Remarks

Negotiating styles have been traditionally classified as either cooperative or aggressive. Ineffective cooperative negotiators are gullible - their trusting nature is exploited. They usually sacrifice too much, are too gentle, too obliging, too forgiving, and too patient. They are ineffective because they do not maximize the net benefit to their client. Ineffective aggressive negotiators are usually irritating and obnoxious. They are irritating because they are unreasonable, do not acknowledge the strengths of their opponent's position, the weaknesses of their client's position, and do not care about fairness. They are ineffective because by ignoring the principles of justice their opponents hesitate to trust them and may be harder to influence. Further, they risk losing their reputation in the community as someone with whom others would like to work. That is why the most effective negotiating style is one balanced by reasonableness and firmness.