Business-level negotiation, like many other aspects of company life, ratifies the Darwinian theory of species evolution that only the strongest survive.
There are mainly four classes of styles of negotiating, these classes emanate from the Blake and Mouton Organizational Chart Model according to which, in human behavior there are two basic and opposite positions, that of aggressive behavior is the first and that of submissive behavior, the second.
But, since not everything is black and white, within the commercial negotiation there is no space for total submission, nor total aggression, but rather for less extreme behavior. For this, there is no doubt that the behavior of a negotiator moves within a varied range of styles that can be illustrated, as Blake and Mouton did, with a gang:
This gang, proposed by Robinson, presents the behaviors that Blake and Mouton enunciated but adds new nuances according to the experiences observed in different types of negotiations. It is rare that during negotiations, a person places himself in one of the four extreme positions (passive, active, cooperative and combative), rather, what does appear is that he positions himself within one of the analytical quadrants / cooperative, analytical / aggressive, flexible / cooperative, and flexible / aggressive, each of which has the following characteristics:
|
Analytical / Cooperative |
Analytical / Aggressive |
| He cares about details, he has his position well prepared and he knows what it is based on.
Find a defined sequence of events Is aware of the needs, purposes and desires of his own side Delegate but follow closely Analyze the counterparty's moods and needs and try to respond to them Be patient as you progress He's nice, but he may not be willing to help |
Analyze to the millimeter what may be your winning strategy Worry about the details
Requires a logical and detailed line of events and procedures to be followed You know what you want to achieve, you have very well defined specific goals Not attentive to the needs and mood of the counterpart He has no patience, he wants to finish quickly and get to the point He doesn't care about appearing nice, let alone being nice |
|
Flexible / Cooperative |
Flexible / Aggressive |
| High preparation, knows your position very well and usually that of the counterpart Does not care about the details
It does not establish the procedure to follow, rather it waits for what they propose It does not start with very clear goals but with the course of the negotiation it defines them Delegates easily and does it often, including decision making He has immense patience, he believes that sooner or later the solution will come |
Its preparation is not very deep, it does not have many elements to start It does not take into account the detail
Not interested in following a specific sequence His goals are not clear, but he has the opportunism to put them on track Delegate widely No this Is open to contemplate new possibilities He is impatient but in moderation Take negotiation as a personal challenge |
Although these styles are basic, each one takes a different behavior in each negotiation and adapts to the circumstances, not necessarily positions himself in one of the quadrants but rather moves through all of them as the negotiation process progresses. Successful negotiators know that flexibility is a key element, but they also know that analysis constitutes a factor of success or failure, they take aggressive or submissive positions (apparently) according to the situation, they are aware that there will be times when They must improvise as well as others in which there will be no space but for exhaustive analysis and the concrete results, in addition, they are attentive, not only to their strategic plan, but trying to decipher that of their counterpart because with it they will be one step ahead.
Whichever style is used, what should be certain is that when starting a negotiation process, you must have at least the following three aspects of your own: our needs, our purposes and our desires; Doing so gives the negotiator the security of those who know they are going to battle well trained.
Bibliography
Robinson, Colin. How to trade, Guide to making productive transactions. (Book)
Blake, Robert R. and Mouton Jane Srygley. Building a dynamic corporation through grid organization development (Book)
