People negotiate differently and behave differently during the negotiation process.
We can observe different trading styles and how different types of behavior can affect the outcome of the negotiations.
In business negotiations, some people trade fast and take risks, others take their time and try to avoid risk. Some buyers are very loyal, others will search automatically. Some negotiators can be quite intimidating to the point of being rude; others are quite passive and easy to manipulate.
This makes selling and negotiating a real challenge. To negotiate with all these different types of buyers, we must be able to adapt our behavior and be flexible in our approach.
To begin this process we can look at two aspects of buyer behavior; assertiveness and responsiveness.
Assertive people are confident and know what they want. They are not afraid to express opinions and are willing to listen to the opinions of others. They are not afraid of conflict and will be more than happy to plead your case.
People who are highly assertive can be seen as aggressive, while people who lack assertiveness are often passive and taken advantage of. There are times when it is convenient to be more or less assertive and we must recognize when those moments are.
Responsiveness means the degree to which people are willing to respond to us and our questions. Some people are very receptive and will give a lot of information about themselves, their problems and needs. Others are unwilling or unable to respond in this way and we often see these people as negative or difficult.
We are all different and some of us are naturally assertive and some of us are not. Salespeople tend to be quite responsive, but sometimes we lack assertiveness. An example of this is during negotiations.
When customers pressure us to cut prices or give discounts, we find it difficult and uncomfortable and worry about damaging the relationship with the buyer.
There are four basic styles of behavior and these are determined by the way people relate to each other.
How can you make sure you’re approaching people the right way?
know the social styles“, developed by Merrill and Reid, is a theory that I have discussed in several of my articles and it is very useful to have a thorough understanding of it when negotiating. Social styles model there are four basic “styles” or preferred ways of interacting with others.
Merrill and Reid believe that the person social style it is a way of coping with others. People feel more comfortable with that style, in themselves and in others.
Of a person social style is measured in relation to three behavioral dimensions:
or assertiveness
o Responsiveness
or Versatility.
The assertiveness scale:
It measures the degree to which a person is seen as attempting to influence the thoughts, decisions, or actions of others, either directly by tell behavior or through questions, i.e. ask behaviour.
say behavior: It is risky, accelerated, challenging.
ask behavior: It is cooperative, deliberate actions, minimizing risks.
The Responsiveness Scale:
It measures the degree to which a person openly expresses their feelings or controls them. The ends of the scale are “control” and “emote”.
control behavior: He is disciplined, serious and cool.
emoticon behavior: You are relationship oriented, open and warm.
The two scales are combined to give a two-dimensional model of behavior, which will help you understand how others perceive you. The behavioral dimensions will also help you plan how you can most effectively deal with people of different social styles.
The four social styles and how to negotiate with them:
Driver .Director.
o Assertive but not receptive
o Task oriented rather than people oriented.
o Decisive and determined
o Controlled emotions
o Focus on efficiency and effectiveness.
o Likes control, often in a hurry.
o Firm and stable relationships
or stubborn, hard.
or Impatient.
o Poor inflexible listener.
To negotiate with drivers:
o Plan to ask questions and discuss specifics, actions, and results.
o Use facts and logic.
o When necessary, disagree with facts rather than opinions. be assertive
o Keep it businesslike, efficient and to the point.
o Personal guarantees and testimonials are less effective, better at providing options and facts.
o Do not invade personal space.
Expressive. The Socialize.
o Assertive and receptive.
o Reactive, impulsive, spontaneous decisions, intuitive
o Give more importance to relationships than to tasks
o Emotionally expressive, sometimes dramatic.
o Flexible schedule, short attention span, easy to love.
or Enthusiastic.
o Strong persuasive skills, talkative and sociable.
or Optimistic; take risks
or Creative.
To negotiate with expressive:
o Seek opinions in an area you want to develop in order to achieve mutual understanding.
o The discussion should be people-oriented as well as fact-oriented.
o Keep summarizing. elaborate details on the points of agreement.
o Try short and quick experience stories.
o Be sure to point them out in a friendly way.
o Remember to discuss the future as well as the present.
o Beware of impulsive buying.
Friendly The Supporter.
o Unassertive but receptive.
or dependent on others.
o Respectful, willing and pleasant.
o Emotionally expressive.
or Friend of all; support for; soft heart.
o Low-risk policyholder, likes security
o Group constructor.
or over sensitive.
o Not goal oriented.
Negotiate With Kinds:
o Work together, look for points in common.
o Learn about personal and family interests.
o Be patient and avoid looking for what seems easy.
o Use personal insurance and specific guarantees and avoid options and odds.
o Take the time to be nice.
o Focus the discussion on .how.
o Demonstrate low-risk solutions.
o Do not take advantage of their good nature.
Analytical The Clinician.
o Not assertive, not receptive.
o Precise, neat and professional.
o Rational and cooperative.
o Self-controlled and serious.
o Motivated by logic and facts.
o Not quick to make decisions.
o Do not trust persuasive people.
o I like things in writing and in detail.
o Security conscious.
o Critical, distant, skeptical.
o Excellent problem solver.
o You like rigid schedules.
Trade with Analytics:
o Act instead of words to show help and willingness.
o Stick to the details. Analysts expect sellers to overreact.
o Their decisions are based on facts and logic and avoid risk.
o They can often be very cooperative, but established relationships take time.
o Consider telling them what the product will not do. they will respect you for it, and they will have spotted the shortcomings anyway.
o Discuss the reasons and ask why. Questions.
o Become less receptive and less assertive yourself.
If you really want to develop not only your negotiation skills, but also your comprehensive communication skills, I advise you to familiarize yourself with the “social styles” model.
Copyright © 2008 Jonathan Farrington. All rights reserved