There are two main sorts of negotiation styles, hard and soft. Hard bargaining is additionally brought up as positional, aggressive, contending, or competitive bargaining; and soft bargaining is synonymous with relational or cooperative bargaining.
Hard Bargainers
In a nutshell, hard bargainers want to be victorious and are willing to jeopardize relationships to accomplish their goal of winning.
While this negotiation style eliminates the necessity to form concessions, it also increases the likelihood that the opposite party will go forth, leading to no agreement, which the connection are going to be severed or severely damaged.
Hard bargainers consider satisfying the opposite party’s needs given that it helps to accomplish their goals and objectives. they have a tendency to with hold important information, purposely provide incorrect bottom-line figures, and embellish facts. As a results of their sometimes deceptive behavior, they have a tendency to distrust the opposite party. Other traits displayed by hard bargainers are their inflated demands and threats, impatience, pressure tactics, and insistence on their own positions.
Because this approach involves little to no preparation, it is used by many negotiators. However, this negotiation style usually does not yield the simplest results because it alienates the opposing party and leaves them dissatisfied with the result. Before deciding to use this approach, serious consideration should be to the following questions:
✔ How important is it that the opposite party doesn’t leave from the negotiation?
✔ what proportion does one value your relationship with the opposite party?
✔ How complicated are the issues?
If you value the link you’ve got with the opposite side, it is important to you that the opposite party not go away from the negotiation, or if the matter involves complex issues, hard bargaining will most likely not yield the specified results.
Soft Bargainers
In contrast to hard bargainers, the first concern of sentimental bargainers is to take care of or improve relationships by finding an answer that appeases all parties. However, to avoid conflict with the opposite side, soft bargainers will quickly concede, make concessions, and conform to conditions that are clearly unfavorable for them. the key disadvantages of this approach are that always soft bargainers feel that they’re taken advantage of or become bitter and resentful following a negotiation.
Soft bargainers tend to be more patient, indirect, accommodating, and trusting than their hard-bargaining counterparts.
So, which negotiation style must you adopt—hard or soft bargaining?
According to Roger Fisher, director of the Harvard Negotiation Project, and William Ury, director of the Negotiation Network, the solution is neither. Fisher and Ury suggest a 3rd negotiation style called principled or win-win negotiation. the most idea behind principled negotiation is that each side explore the interests of both parties and find out an original solution that creates either side want winners. Fisher and Ury base principled negotiation on the subsequent four points:
- specialise in the interests of all parties, not their positions.
- Separate the people from the problem.
- Make a listing of creative options that meet the interests of both parties.
- Base the top result on an objective standard.
1 Comment